Lifelines: The Power of Fiction to Tell the Truth

And if things at school weren't bad enough, in the spring of that year, someone started a rumor that one of the girls in our class was gay. It spread like wildfire. As soon as the rumor took hold, kids reacted to her with unchained emotional brutality. Guys hooted "gay" at her every time she walked down the hall and snickered at her when she walked into class. Girls crinkled their faces in disgust when her name was mentioned and shunned her when she was in the same general area. Anyone seen talking to her was labeled "gay by association" and harassed accordingly. I knew it was wrong, but I was terrified of being harassed and shunned that way, so I avoided her too. Witnessing the gaybashing of my classmate permanently scarred me and branded the message that it was not okay to be gay into the depths of my consciousness. Unlike Danny, I did not fight back against the homophobia that defined my life; I didn't even consider it to be an option. Instead, I forced myself to be someone I wasn't. I faked an interest in make-up, shopping, and, most significantly, guys. As a result, I felt even more freakish, isolated and alone.

"Visiting Grandma" takes the reader into the mind and soul of a sexually abused gay teenager. In the process, it functions as a lifeline by giving a voice to kids who cannot speak their own truth, helping them see that they are not alone and telling them that they are not to blame for other people's bad behavior. This book should be available at every library in the country. If I had been able to read "Visiting Grandma" when I was a teenager, perhaps I wouldn't have felt so shameful, isolated and alone.

Unfortunately, Suite101 does not carry this book but you can find this book at Amazon.com. You can find more information on how to find this book at http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/lesb...

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