Not Like Other Boys, Growing Up Gay by Marlene Fanta Shyer and Christopher Shyer

Marlene Fanta Shyer beamed as her son Chris's kindergarten teacher delivered a glowing report on his adjustment to school. The year was 1966, her first parent-teacher conference, and Marlene was proud to hear that Chris was a "pleasure to have in class." By all accounts Chris was the perfect child - obedient, mature, bright - but Marlene felt compelled to speak up. "I've been worried about Chris," she admitted. "I'm afraid he may grow up to be a homosexual." In alternating voices, this frank memoir chronicles the long journey mother and son took from a relationship of concealment and shame about Chris's homosexuality to one of acceptance and love. Marlene and Chris tell the story of their parallel lives during the troubled years each of them kept silent about their suspicions, all the while yearning to reveal the truth. Their heroic emergence from the closet - a mire of emotional isolation and unnecessary pain - is testament to our potential for emotional growth and our need for tolerant and supportive parenting.