Silent Lives How High a Price? : For Personal Reflections and Group Discussions about Sexual Orientation

Rating:
Summary: Moving from Silence to Speaking to Celebration
Review: Inspiring, Hopeful and Affirming! "Silent Lives" stands as a beacon of light for the healing of our larger humanity. "Silent Lives" is a call to action for everyone to take personal responsibility in learning to self-reflect, to improve understanding, to cultivate greater compassion and to actively engage in creating a more just, humane society. Finally, I thought, a book about this topic that is accessible and understandable for even the most seemingly fearful, rigid and/or uninformed mind-set. The author addresses the topic of sexual orientation from multiple viewpoints and includes everyone in the conversation. Everyone, of course, needs to be included in this conversation because, as the author so eloquently explains and articulates, this topic does in fact affect everyone. The author effectively makes "real," in the realm of everyday living, the impact, the costs and the price of "passing" by gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersexual and, interestingly, heterosexual individuals as well. This book is powerful in its ability to present information about sexual orientation in a matter-of-fact, disarming and humanistic manner. Relevant empirical research is presented to illuminate and normalize the reality of human behavior. I have sent copies of "Silent Lives" to all of my family and plan to send copies to all of my friends! Additionally, I recommend "Silent Lives" as a must-read for every professional in the mental health and substance abuse fields and every student in a formal, educational program of study in a helping profession.