Oh, Bob! I Thought It Was Curtains! Survival and Transcendence in a Homophobic World

In his teens and well into his twenties, Rob Lawrence Russo harbored doubts that he would ever be a happy, independent, financially solvent adult. Raised by a hateful father and an infantilizing, passive-aggressive mother, Rob entered adulthood emotionally fragile, not knowing who he really was or what career path suited him.

On a psychological level, Rob spent decades coming to terms with being homosexual in a homophobic world. Despite having a mother who once told him she would kill a son...