David Jenkins
Michael LaSala does a masterful job tackling the larger view of family adjustments by incorporating the experiences of both sides of the coming out process.
— David Jenkins, Texas Christian University
Michael P. Nichols
A compassionate and insightful study of this challenging but rewarding rite of passage.
Gilbert Herdt
LaSala draws on years of working with families and their gay and lesbian children to write a warm and wonderfully compassionate book. With insight and wisdom, his study examines very real and honest stories of how gay and lesbian people cope with accepting their families and how parents and siblings work to love and protect their offspring. It takes a remarkable look into the human condition of gay and lesbian struggles in the twenty-first century, and I highly recommend it.
— Gilbert Herdt, San Francisco State University, and coauthor of Children of Horizons: How Gay and Lesbian Teens are Leading a New Way Out of the Closet
Yolanda C. Padilla
Up until now, the process of coming to terms with one's sexual orientation has been approached as a personal struggle. Michael LaSala develops a model that comprehensively analyzes the family dynamics before, during, and after a child's disclosure of his or her sexual orientation. A great deal of insight is gained by comparing the stories of the children and parents interviewed in this book.
— Yolanda C. Padilla, University of Texas at Austin
Patrick W. Corrigan
The stigma of gays and lesbians continues to wound, even in what should be more enlightened times; still caught in the fallout are parents. Research has begun to make sense of families with gay/lesbian children; science is getting a handle on the phenomena. This book adds color to the data, partly done through an amazingly rich collection of interviews. It also arises from LaSala's experiences, both as a gay man and as a counselor with more than twenty-five years of service. The colors are deep and the hues are magnificent for many reasons, but especially for the honesty and integrity LaSala has brought to the task.
— Patrick W. Corrigan, Institute of Psychology, Illinois Institute of Technology
Jody M. Huckaby
Michael C. LaSala's research reveals a key truth: as difficult and painful as it can sometimes be to accept a loved one as LGBT, not accepting them is often more difficult and painful and can leave a permanent fracture in the family. With compassion and patience, families can find their way through the coming out process to stronger and more honest relationships. In the end, parents want what is best for their children, and what is best for children is the love and acceptance of parents.
— Jody M. Huckaby, PFLAG National Executive Director
Nancy Boyd-Franklin
This wonderful book captures the very personal challenges and triumphs of the coming out process in the words of sixty-five gay and lesbian youth and their parents. Their honest and touching comments will be a great source of comfort to young people and families going through the process. A pioneering study, it provides a very sensitive roadmap through the stages of this journey and will be a valuable tool for the psychotherapists, counselors, and family therapists. It should be required reading for everyone in the mental health field.
— Nancy Boyd-Franklin, Rutgers University, and author of Black Families in Therapy: Understanding the African American Experience
