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54th out of 121 books
—
200 voters
Born This Way: Real Stories of Growing Up Gay
by
Paul Vitagliano (Goodreads Author)
Based on the hugely popular blog of the same name, Born This Way shares 100 different memories of growing up LGBTQ. Childhood photographs are accompanied by sweet, funny, and at times heartbreaking personal stories. Collected from around the world and dating from the 1940s to today, these memories speak to the hardships of an unaccepting world and the triumph of pride, sel...more
Hardcover, 128 pages
Published
October 9th 2012
by Quirk Books
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Paul Vitagliano knows first hand what it is like to grow up gay. Even in today’s day and age it is still hard to find acceptance without judgement so in 2011 Paul started the blog site “Born This Way” which is a place to share stories and support for the LGBTQ community. The blog exploded with responses, so much so… Paul wrote this book, Born This Way, filling it with pictures of boys and girls at young ages and their stories about when they knew and what it was like when (and if) they came out...more
Banned Books Week. Unfortunately, many of the challenged books in schools and libraries deal with GLBTX (Gay, Lesbian, Bi-Sexual, Transgender, Exploring) issues, such as And Tango Makes Three; The Perks of Being a Wallflower; Gossip Girls; My Sister's Keeper; etc.. Instead of banning these books, we should be celebrating them, reminding our GLBT youth they are not alone.
I got an e-mail last week from a friend at Quirk Books, who told me about a book that is hitting the shelves on October 9th en...more
I got an e-mail last week from a friend at Quirk Books, who told me about a book that is hitting the shelves on October 9th en...more
This book is for anyone who felt that they were alone as a child or teenager because they knew they were gay or lesbian at a young age. Paul Vitagliano and all those who contributed to this book clearly want the readers to know they aren't that different from others and that the readers aren't alone out there in the world.
A diverse cross section of people reflect back on their youth and childhoods based solely on pictures taken of them at those ages. Some of the stories are serious, while other...more
A diverse cross section of people reflect back on their youth and childhoods based solely on pictures taken of them at those ages. Some of the stories are serious, while other...more
Absolutely amazing book, full of touching stories of people coming to terms with being gay. Every page has a photo, and is captioned by the subject of that photo - talking about how they came to realize they were gay, coming out, and talking about how they feel now that they are out of the closet. A lot of the stories behind the photos are looked back upon fondly, while some take the time to share the real (and present) pain that is in their lives because of their own journeys.
It really humaniz...more
It really humaniz...more
This book is adorable! Even if you are illiterate, the pictures will make you smile, and some of them will make you laugh out loud.
It's all photos of gay people when they were children, with a short description by the person. Most of the photos are of boys, and a lot of them follow the script of "I was a very effeminate and fabulous child who hated sports and loved dressing up in girl's clothes and I was bullied a lot, but now I love my life." There are also a bunch of very different photos and...more
It's all photos of gay people when they were children, with a short description by the person. Most of the photos are of boys, and a lot of them follow the script of "I was a very effeminate and fabulous child who hated sports and loved dressing up in girl's clothes and I was bullied a lot, but now I love my life." There are also a bunch of very different photos and...more
I have a few gay friends and relatives. As did just about every contributor to the book, my cousin knew she was gay - or at least "different," since she was too young to know what gay meant - when she was 5.
After reading this book, it breaks my heart to learn what gay kids endure, the emotional turmoil of thinking they have a "disorder" or "illness," as well as the taunting and bullying by schoolmates. It's hard enough to be a kid, but to be gay can add tremendous suffering and ridicule.
What I...more
After reading this book, it breaks my heart to learn what gay kids endure, the emotional turmoil of thinking they have a "disorder" or "illness," as well as the taunting and bullying by schoolmates. It's hard enough to be a kid, but to be gay can add tremendous suffering and ridicule.
What I...more
Born This Way: Real Stories of Growing Up Gay is the sweet brain child of Paul Vitalgliano who is also known as DJ Paul V. Based on the popular blog of the same name, Born This Way features 100 photographs and narratives submitted by blog readers from around the world. Their stories and their photographs date from the 1940’s to today, and are paired with some very personal narratives about growing up LGBTQ. Some of these narratives will make you smile, some will make you laugh, and some will ult...more
Easy breezy read. Challenge was.. the book left me a bit unfulfilled. I wanted more.. to know more about each person's journey. And so irritating.. the author introduces the book with the names (full) of some of the persons in the book as he points out he wanted to include "luminaries" and "role models" (my words - not his)... but then, in the text - none of the people have last names. So if one wanted to try and see the beginning stories of the mentioned one had to do a little sherlocking....
Al...more
Al...more
I won this book in the giveaways section not knowing what the Born This Way blog was and I'd like to say I was pleasantly surprised! I received this book in the mail and as soon as I opened it I sat down and read it from front to back! I was so inspired but some of the stories within this book and am so happy I can add this to my collection of books. I would recommend this book to friends and am going to have my friends read it, and check out the blog! Also I was very pleasantly surprised that t...more
I love hearing coming out stories. There is something that everyone can learn from a coming out story. The positive ones give hope. The negative ones teach the reader how to handle the situation. So when I heard that Paul Vitagliano, one of the more well known members of the LGBT community had compiled a book of short stories about coming out, I knew that I had to read it. Born This Way definitely didn’t disappoint. I learned something from every single one of the stories. Some of them made me l...more
Overwhelmingly focuses on the experiences of white men. There are only a handful of lesbians and most of the experiences shared are NOT by people of color. I can count them on one hand. Also greatly ignores bisexuals and transpeople. I don't know if that is bias on part of the author (I believe a friend of Dan Savage, so I wouldn't be surprised) or if the submissions were really so terribly lacking in diversity (considering this book was made, I highly doubt that). I suppose I should not ask for...more
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Very much in the form of a blog.. Little anecdotal stories make up the book, some no more than a paragraph long. The photos are adorable and the memories are precious and important though.
Reminds me of post-secret, in a way, though the tone is proud- not apologetic- and the stories are full of hope.
:)
Check out Augusten Buroughs' novels. They are bizarre and honest and amazing pieces of literature, based on hos childhood memories and experiences.
Reminds me of post-secret, in a way, though the tone is proud- not apologetic- and the stories are full of hope.
:)
Check out Augusten Buroughs' novels. They are bizarre and honest and amazing pieces of literature, based on hos childhood memories and experiences.
An engaging book filled with childood photos of gay men and lesbians, accompanied with short explanations of the photos. Generally, the respondants (some well-known, some not) were sharing their early awareness of being gay and the response of those around them. Spreading over 50 years (1948-1998), the increased level of acceptance over time can be noted, sometimes depending on the location or family's faith. For me, the major "take home message" was how absolutely CRUCIAL family support and acc...more
Beautifully written, this book is a series of snapshots, literally and figuratively, of the moment in time when that person realized they were gay or at least different. Made me think a great deal about my own childhood and coming out. A must read in my opinion for anyone who is questioning.
Cute book, but simplistic and had an almost 4:1 ration of gay guys to girls. My full review, plus accompanying rants on the slogans "Born This Way" and "It Gets Better" can be found at http://lesbrary.com/2012/12/27/danika...
I've been reading so many books with really epic tonal shifts lately. This is a mixture of really heartbreaking stories of unsupportive families, vicious bullies, and childhood self-loathing, but it also has some hilarious & sweet stories. The pictures are amazing, too.
A true, inspiring, funny at times, and enlightening book about growing up gay. It felt wonderful to read these short excerpts of people telling about their experience of growing up gay, coming out to their parents and their life today. I cannot say how much I loved it!
What a touching book. These true stories of feeling different in a straight world are tender, poignant and also pretty funny. The pictures made me laugh, the stories of coming out made me cry and the pure honesty really moved me. Have your hanky ready!
I received a copy of this book for review through GoodReads FirstReads program.
Adorable pictures of gay kids accompanied by quotes about growing up gay. Most of the stories are uplifting with a few sad moments of intolerance. A cute, quick read.
Adorable pictures of gay kids accompanied by quotes about growing up gay. Most of the stories are uplifting with a few sad moments of intolerance. A cute, quick read.
Such a great idea... a childhood photo with each short essay about their experience... bullying, denial, parental acceptance vs nonacceptance, and so on. Doing a great service... especially for children who think they are the only one.
This book had me laughing out loud and Awe-ing at others. Each picture has a story, short sentences in some cases, about growing up and just "knowing " that they were gay or lesbian and that they were "Fabulous!!!!"
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Short and sweet book concerning photos of gays and lesbians when they were younger, with a paragraph or two attached, eg.- "How gay was THIS photo?! How did my family NOT know I was gay?!"
It's a wonderful idea for a dose of "Feel Good". It is filled with wonderful, albeit short, stories about the growing-up-gay experience. Best of all- I'm in it!
A sweet, short book with a wonderful message that can apply to ANYONE: you are fabulous the way you are and don't let anyone tell you otherwise :)
A considerable amount of gay and lesbian sent in pictures of themselves as little kids with a caption of about a paragraph long. I think I would have preferred longer stories to go along with the pictures. In a paragraph, you aren't given much in the way of info.
I liked this book a lot. It made me reminisce through some of my old childhood pictures. I was sad that I finished so quickly. I want more...
One page vignettes of growing up gay. Some are happy, some not so happy but it's a great book.
Super sweet book filled with adorable pictures that made me laugh out loud. It does get better!
Very quick read. Loved the childhood pictures of the people who shared their stories.
I was a little disappointed in this book. I really wanted it to be longer, more detailed accounts of these men and women who grew up knowing they were "different" (as many of them put it). Instead, the book was full of short snippets, some people only sharing two or three sentences. Most stories were either "I was bullied and now I'm okay" or "I was always accepted and it was wonderful." I know nothing about being gay or going through what these people have gone through, but I imagine there are...more
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Paul Vitagliano (aka DJ Paul V.) is an institution in the Los Angeles and Silver Lake club scene, and whose eclectic club and radio DJ career has thrived for over 30 years, first in his hometown of Boston and in Los Angeles since 1988.
In January 2011, Paul was inspired to create the "Born This Way Blog" - a photo/essay project for gay adults of all genders to submit their childhood pictures and st...more
More about Paul Vitagliano...
In January 2011, Paul was inspired to create the "Born This Way Blog" - a photo/essay project for gay adults of all genders to submit their childhood pictures and st...more
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