Rating: 
Summary: Excellent
Review: A beautiful and moving book. Had there been a book like this available when I was coming out, I would have felt less terrified and alone. Congratulations to the brave youth represented in this book, and thank you to Adam Mastoon for providing such a valuable resource.
Rating:
Summary: inspires the courage to be your full self
Review: Adam has transferred his emotionally empowering project into this book. The story of each young person is full of spirit and will and survival - Adam's photography captures the sense of their personality and soul in every image. The book provides the positive images that any person coming out should have had growing up. The project is an incredible gift to all of us.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful reading for anyone GLBT, questioning or STRAIGHT
Review: As a young gay male still in fear of coming out to my parents and all but my closest friends, this book is incredibly reassuring. Written with a perspective a young adult can relate to, this may be the best reading for anyone of any orientation if not to build self-confidence then to open one's mind. Gay is not some stereotype, it is the person standing next to you, your best friend, maybe even a sibling. If nothing more, the author has provided a glimpse into the psyche of the gay youth and presented an emotional work of art through young men and womens' word and utterly beautiful and soulful photography. A very strong recommendation for this book to be read by not only young men and women, but also to parents who may be experiencing the coming out of their child.
Rating:
Summary: Shared Heart, Shared Story
Review: I found this book in the local libary and I automatically sat down and read it from cover to cover. This is the book that every young lonely GLBT youth needs. It shows that we are not alone and that there are other teens out there just like us. It is a fabulos book and it is the best thinh that has happened to me!
Rating:
Summary: this book was amazingly inspiring and wonderfully honest.
Review: I have recomended this book to everyone I know, gay, straight, bi, questioning... everyone should read it. The combination of both the pictures, and the typed and handwritten text strikes the reader, and shows a side of growing up homosexual that a lot of books don't often show, that you can still be completely normal, you don't have to act or dress funny, you don't have to hate yourself for it, you can be happy about it, and still lead a normal life. This book inspired me to come out (the day after i read it) to my best friend, and a little while later, to seek guidence from an adult, lesbian, friend who i trusted. Everyone should be able to have inspiration like that.
Rating:
Summary: wonderful
Review: It is wonderful to hear the stories of courageous youth who are able to know themselves so early in life. They should be proud of their sexual orientation and proud of their strength at a time in their lives when other young people around them may be too immature to understand.
Rating:
Summary: A Work of Art
Review: Sometimes a book so special and intimate comes along that it draws the reader off the printed page and into a new possibility for life. Such is the case with "The Shared Heart," a collection of images and essays photographed and compiled by Adam Mastoon, a Massachusetts-based photographer, whose work has been exhibited nationally, and featured in Esquire, Forbes, Spin, and the Village Voice. The 87-page book offers a series of poignant glimpses at more than 30 young people, all of whom are lesbian, gay or bisexual. "Meeting and photographing the young people in this book has been a profound experience for me," says Mastoon. "Their fearless commitment to be themselves deeply inspires me." Each young person's individuality is perfectly captured through the lens of Mastoon, and below each image is a short handwritten essay by the subject, as well as a longer, typewritten one. The attention to detail is evident-everything about this book says "crafted with care," including the young people themselves. They come from every background. Some are class presidents, others are artists. Some have endured family rejection because of religious beliefs or cultural issues. All of them speak with candor and courage. Their collective testimony amounts to a powerful account of the virtues of bravery and honesty.
Rating:
Summary: A Work of Art
Review: Sometimes a book so special and intimate comes along that it draws the reader off the printed page and into a new possibility for life. Such is the case with "The Shared Heart," a collection of images and essays photographed and compiled by Adam Mastoon, a Massachusetts-based photographer, whose work has been exhibited nationally, and featured in Esquire, Forbes, Spin, and the Village Voice. The 87-page book offers a series of poignant glimpses at more than 30 young people, all of whom are lesbian, gay or bisexual. "Meeting and photographing the young people in this book has been a profound experience for me," says Mastoon. "Their fearless commitment to be themselves deeply inspires me." Each young person's individuality is perfectly captured through the lens of Mastoon, and below each image is a short handwritten essay by the subject, as well as a longer, typewritten one. The attention to detail is evident-everything about this book says "crafted with care," including the young people themselves. They come from every background. Some are class presidents, others are artists. Some have endured family rejection because of religious beliefs or cultural issues. All of them speak with candor and courage. Their collective testimony amounts to a powerful account of the virtues of bravery and honesty.
Rating:
Summary: This book is more than a heartfelt investigation on the subj
Review: The shared heart is more than a heartfelt investigation of its subject, it it a moviing study of the human animal. Regardless of ones sexual orientation it should be looked at and carefully read by people everywhere. We have all experienced the feeling of being cast aside by some aspect of our society at some time in out lives. As I have the honor of being a close personal friend of the author I can confirm that his heart, soul and the very essence of his being have all been put into this book. bravo. bravo. bravo.
Rating:
Summary: Courageous life stories, personality-filled photos
Review: These beautiful and complex photographs depict humor, integrity, joy, pain, and courage. The photographer's technical expertise is matched and perhaps even surpassed by his eye for the "soul" of his subjects. The photos are complemented by first-person stories that reveal the journeys and challenges these young people have faced and overcome. It sounds corny, but this book made me proud of both the photographer and his subjects. This book does what great art and literature are supposed to do. It is uplifting and inspiring, and it lights the path toward a brighter future.
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