Table of Contents
Introduction Dan Savage 1
A Message from President Barack Obama 9
You Will Find Your People Laurel Slongwhite 11
The Life Almost Lost Bruce Ortiz 15
In the Early Morning Rain Jennifer Finney Boylan 18
Something Has Changed Within Me Gregory Maguire 22
Action Makes It Better Urvashi Vaid 24
You Are a Rubber Band, My Friend Brinae Lois Gaudet 27
God Believes in You Bishop Gene Robinson 30
The Person Worth Fighting For Is You Alex R. Orue 35
A Message from Ellen DeGeneres 38
Life Unfolds Exactly As It Should (But Not As You Planned) Sean Blane David Rosen 40
It Gets Better for a British Soldier Lance Corporal James Wharton 42
Getting Stronger and Staying Alive Gabrielle Rivera 45
Coming Out of the Shtetl: Gay Orthodox Jews Marc Tannen Chaim Levin Ely Winkler Justin Spiro Moishie Rabinowitz Mordechai Levovitz 48
Going Back In Michael Cunningham 54
And the Emmy Goes to … Barbara Gaines 59
A Message from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton 62
This I Know for Sure A. Y. Daring 64
It Gets Better Broadway by Members of the Broadway and New York Theater Community 67
Rockin' the Flannel Shirt Krissy Mahan 71
How It Got Better for an Ordained Christian Minister 74
by Professor Stephen V. Sprinkle 74
Out of Darkness Philip Deal 77
I Was a Teenage Lesbian Alison Bechdel 79
Something Special Sia Furler 80
The Dinner Party Adam Roberts 82
What I Wish I Knew Ivan Coyote 87
Freedom from Fear Michael Feinstein 91
A Message from Prime Minister David Cameron 94
You Will Meet People Who Celebrate You Jenn Erika Wagner-Martin 96
An Identity Unfolded Mark Ramirez 99
A Message from Suze Orman 102
Brothers: It Gets Better Lenox Magee Rannon Harris David Dodd Kean Ray 104
Drop Dead, Warlock David Sedaris 110
Gwendolyn Gone Meshell Ndegeocello 112
Growing Up Gay … and Kinky by Dart 114
The Biggest Gift Stewart Taylor 117
A Message from Senator Al Franken 121
Transsexual Prairie Girl Tamsyn Waterhouse 123
Art from Rage Jake Shears 125
It Gets Better / $$$ (Btkoun Ahsan) Bashar Makhay / $$$ 127
Too Good to Be True Cameron Tuttle 130
Journey to a Better Life Juan Carlos Galan, MS 133
The Gay Guy in the Band Kevin Samual Yee 138
Will I Grow Up to Be Paul Lynde? Andy Cohen 140
Finding Who I Am Hunter Adeline Brady 142
Community Chaz Bono 145
A Message from Nancy Pelosi 147
Gunn's Golden Rules Tim Gunn 149
Perfect, Just the Way You Are Darren Hayes 151
Where Happiness Is Natalie Sperry Mandelin 153
Not-Normal Michael K. Wells 158
Born This Way Perez Hilton 162
Darn It Kate Clinton 165
Look at the Moon Agustin Cepeda 167
Critical Shifts Jesse Barnes 169
For Aideybear Ava Dodge 171
A Message from John Berry 173
The Show Must Go On Kyle Dean Massey 175
Survival Tools Ellen Forney 177
Dear Uncle Ronnie by randy roberts potts 181
My Office Wall Trevor Corneil, MD 185
Keep on Livin' JD Samson 187
It Gets Better Because You're a Little Different Dave Holmes 189
Unapologetically, Me Demetrius Gittens 192
A Collective Voice Gabe Milligan-Green Addy Cahill Russell Peck 195
I Didn't Always Wear a Tuxedo Murray Hill 201
How I Got Over Tuan N'Gai 205
A "Better" Evolution Joseph Odysseus Mastro 208
Save Yourself, Save the World Khris Brown 211
Becoming an Authentic Person Nicholas Wheeler 213
On the Other Side Jay A. Foxworthy Bryan Leffew 215
Bully Me Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum 218
To the Bullies Tristan Jackson 220
The Good Fight Kristel Yoneda 223
A Message from Kevin Hague, MP 226
Haters Can't Hate Someone Who Loves Themselves, and if They Do, Who Cares Lynn Breedlove 228
Not Playing at a Cinema Near You Rebecca Brown 232
From "Faggot" to Field Biologist Christopher A. Schmitt, PhD 235
It Got Better Stephen D. Lorimor 238
Our Parents as Allies Lawrence Gullo Fyodor Pavlov Eileen Charbonneau Ed Gullo 240
Lesbian Teacher Believes in You Kristin Rivers 243
Stepping Off the Sidelines Wayne Knaub 245
My Own Worst Enemy Jessica Leshnoff 248
You Are a Beloved Child of God Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson 254
Transgendered and Self-Educated in Maine Jean Vermette 256
The Power of "You" Luan Legacy 261
It Gets Better for Small Towners, Too Dwayne Steward 264
To Me: With Love and Squalor Terry Galloway 267
Happiness Is Inevitable Henry Winfiele 271
I Wish I'd Been Sassier! Brian Gallivan aka Gay Sassy Friend 273
Protect and Serve Loves Semper Fidelis J. D. Davis Allen D. Stone 275
The Doors of Acceptance Shaun Ridgway 279
Hope Out of Tragedy Matthew Anthony Houck 282
Patience Makes Perfect … Sense Angelo D'Agostino 287
Christian LGBT Kids: You're Part of the Plan Raven Mardirosian 289
Terrible Day Patrick Murphy 291
The Worst of Both Worlds Michelle Faid 294
Closets on Fire Anthony Antoine 297
The King Brothers Dick Mark S. King 300
Community Found Taylor Bailey 303
From Scared to Proud: The Journey of a Gay Medical Student Jake Kleinman 307
Authentic Self Sara Sperling 310
You Can Live a Life That's Worth Living Kate Bornstein 312
Epilogue Terry Miller 315
Acknowledgments 319
Resources
Some Curriculum Guidelines for Schools and Teachers 321
The Trevor Project 325
GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network) 327
ACLU LGBT Project 329
Photo and Comic Credits 331
Permissions 333