It Gets Better : Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying, and Creating a Life Worth Living

by Savage, Dan; Miller, Terry

• ISBN13: 9780452297616
• ISBN10: 0452297613
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-01-25
• Publisher: Plume

Summary

A collection of original essays and testimonials written to LGBT teens from a variety of people, including celebrities, politicians, parents, and other ordinary people, emphasizing the possibilities of a positive future for them.

Author Biography

Dan Savage is the editorial director of Seattle's weekly newspaper, The Stranger. Terry Miller is an event promoter, musician, and DJ. They were married in Canada and live in Seattle with their son, DJ.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 1
A Message from President	p. 9
You Will Find Your People	p. 11
The Life Almost Lost	p. 15
In the Early Morning Rain	p. 18
Something Has Changed Within Me	p. 22
Action Makes It Better	p. 24
You Are a Rubber Band, My Friend	p. 27
God Believes in You	p. 30
The Person Worth Fighting For Is You	p. 35
A Message from Ellen DeGeneres	p. 38
Life Unfolds Exactly As It Should (But Not As You Planned)	p. 40
It Gets Better for a British Soldier	p. 42
Getting Stronger and Staying Alive	p. 45
Coming Out of the Shtetl: Gay Orthodox Jews	p. 48
Going Back In	p. 54
And the Emmy Goes to …	p. 59
A Message from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton	p. 62
This I Know for Sure	p. 64
It Gets Better Broadway by Members of the Broadway and New York Theater Community	p. 67
Rockin' the Flannel Shirt	p. 71
How It Got Better for an Ordained Christian Minister	p. 74
by Professor Stephen V. Sprinkle	p. 74
Out of Darkness	p. 77
I Was a Teenage Lesbian	p. 79
Something Special	p. 80
The Dinner Party	p. 82
What I Wish I Knew	p. 87
Freedom from Fear	p. 91
A Message from Prime Minister	p. 94
You Will Meet People Who Celebrate You	p. 96
An Identity Unfolded	p. 99
A Message from	p. 102
Brothers: It Gets Better	p. 104
Drop Dead, Warlock	p. 110
Gwendolyn Gone	p. 112
Growing Up Gay … and Kinky by Dart	p. 114
The Biggest Gift	p. 117
A Message from	p. 121
Transsexual Prairie Girl	p. 123
Art from Rage	p. 125
It Gets Better / $$$ (Btkoun Ahsan)	p. 127
Too Good to Be True	p. 130
Journey to a Better Life	p. 133
The Gay Guy in the Band	p. 138
Will I Grow Up to Be Paul Lynde?	p. 140
Finding Who I Am	p. 142
Community	p. 145
A Message from Nancy Pelosi	p. 147
Gunn's Golden Rules	p. 149
Perfect, Just the Way You Are	p. 151
Where Happiness Is	p. 153
Not-Normal	p. 158
Born This Way	p. 162
Darn It	p. 165
Look at the Moon	p. 167
Critical Shifts	p. 169
For Aideybear	p. 171
A Message from John Berry	p. 173
The Show Must Go On	p. 175
Survival Tools	p. 177
Dear Uncle Ronnie by randy roberts potts	p. 181
My Office Wall	p. 185
Keep on Livin'	p. 187
It Gets Better Because You're a Little Different	p. 189
Unapologetically, Me	p. 192
A Collective Voice	p. 195
I Didn't Always Wear a Tuxedo	p. 201
How I Got Over	p. 205
A "Better" Evolution	p. 208
Save Yourself, Save the World	p. 211
Becoming an Authentic Person	p. 213
On the Other Side	p. 215
Bully Me	p. 218
To the Bullies	p. 220
The Good Fight	p. 223
A Message from	p. 226
Haters Can't Hate Someone Who Loves Themselves, and if They Do, Who Cares	p. 228
Not Playing at a Cinema Near You	p. 232
From "Faggot" to Field Biologist	p. 235
It Got Better	p. 238
Our Parents as Allies	p. 240
Lesbian Teacher Believes in You	p. 243
Stepping Off the Sidelines	p. 245
My Own Worst Enemy	p. 248
You Are a Beloved Child of God	p. 254
Transgendered and Self-Educated in Maine	p. 256
The Power of "You"	p. 261
It Gets Better for Small Towners, Too	p. 264
To Me: With Love and Squalor	p. 267
Happiness Is Inevitable	p. 271
I Wish I'd Been Sassier!	p. 273
Protect and Serve Loves Semper Fidelis	p. 275
The Doors of Acceptance	p. 279
Hope Out of Tragedy	p. 282
Patience Makes Perfect … Sense	p. 287
Christian LGBT Kids: You're Part of the Plan	p. 289
Terrible Day	p. 291
The Worst of Both Worlds	p. 294
Closets on Fire	p. 297
The King Brothers	p. 300
Community Found	p. 303
From Scared to Proud: The Journey of a Gay Medical Student	p. 307
Authentic Self	p. 310
You Can Live a Life That's Worth Living	p. 312
Epilogue	p. 315
Acknowledgments	p. 319
Resources
Some Curriculum Guidelines for Schools and Teachers	p. 321
The Trevor Project	p. 325
GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network)	p. 327
ACLU LGBT Project	p. 329
Photo and Comic Credits	p. 331
Permissions	p. 333
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