Born This Way by Paul Vitagliano

Synopsis:
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, self-love, and self-acceptance. This intimate little book is a wonderful gift for all members of the LGBTQ community as well as their friends and families. Like Dan Savage’s It Gets Better Project, Born This Way gives young people everywhere the courage to say, “Yes, I’m gay. And I was born this way. I’ve known it since I was very young, and this is my story.”

My Thoughts:

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 laugh while others made me sad. I could definitely identify with some of the stories, especially about being bullied in high school because of your sexual orientation. However, the stories all come with a great message. It gets better. It might seem hard to deal with now, but the bullying does decrease and you will find like minded people to be around who love you for you. The book also brings up another great point. No matter what, always stay true to yourself. Otherwise you will never be happy with who you are. Once you start to love yourself you will care less about what other people think about you. I loved this book. The only thing is that I wished it would have had more stories about lesbians bisexuals and transgenders coming out as well. I think Born This Way should be required reading for everyone. Maybe people would think twice about bullying someone because of their sexual orientation. I will definitely be passing the book along to one of my LGBT friends in hopes it will encourage them to be themselves. 

I give Born This Way: 5/5.

Want to know more about the author?
Website: http://www.borngaybornthisway.blogspot.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DJPaulV
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/DJ-Paul-V/153210308057861
Pintrest: http://pinterest.com/btwblog/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5772245.Paul_Vitagliano

I received this book from the publisher in exchange forn ahonest review. I was in no way compensated for this review.