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It's OK to be Gay: Celebrity Coming Out Stories
'A page-turner... a terrific read' Susan Sallis "A powerful tale of survival and hardship, very well crafted and with strong characters" - Publishing News Magda's Daughter - Book Nine of the Hearts of Gold series by Best-Selling author Catrin Collier Stateless and destitute after the Second World War, Magda Janek settles in the Welsh town of Pontypridd, in the hope of building a new life for herself and her baby daughter, Helena. All Magda has to give Helena are the ambitions she had once cherished for herself; dreams cruelly snatched from her by the war and its terrible aftermath. But 1960s Pontypridd is a place of opportunity - at twenty-one, Magda's daughter has beauty, confidence and prospects beyond even her mother's wildest imaginings. With a university degree behind her, a coveted teaching post in her old Grammar school, and marriage to the love of her life, Dr Eddie John, the son of an old Pontypridd family to look forward to, Helena couldn't be happier. Until tragedy strikes. A tragedy that robs Helena of the only family she has ever known and everything she has ever believed in; Helena uncovers a bitter secret, so explosive that her mother carried it to the grave...
192 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 10, 2013
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278 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
dnf
April 17, 2022I wanted to try this out to find if it could be added to my list of LGBT+ books that I recommend. What I should have realised when I picked this up - which is totally not the book's fault - is that memoirs that don't have a driving message and are just moments from someone's life, just aren't for me. I think the idea of this is great, as it is great to have more visible LGBT+ figures for young people to look up to, and from what I read, it sounded good.
October 20, 2014
3 of 5 stars
I'm excited to have won this as a Goodreads First Read – so thanks!
We've come a long way, baby! What a fun quick read, hearing about how others compare or don’t to my own process of coming out; and I love how this contributes to stopping bullying as well as hopefully helps people with their own struggles. I think of this as a British version of the US’s NO H8 and It Gets Better efforts, and applaud them for it. I also learned about some of the recent history of the gay culture of Britain.
At first I was disappointed the people were British and thus weren’t more well known in the US, but I soon got over that as I got into the stories. In actuality, it’s probably more helpful that the readers can likely relate better to the stories told here because they are more like how most of us have grown up, and even in the more famous folks most of their coming out was before they were famous and thus they were just like the rest of us at the time, thus more a more compelling message.
One disappointment is that there is not more diversity – just a few people of color and none of them black men, only one old enough to have grown up before decriminalization in Britain, and I’m not sure about religious diversity represented. Unfortunately maybe that’s a representation of who is out, thus a reflection of the prejudices still existing in our varied cultures.
While everyone talked about having to deal with prejudices, etc. For most, I felt they were glossed over with a more detached treatment, almost minimizing it maybe so as to encourage and not scare particularly young readers with the heavy stuff of life. It may lay in the art of storytelling to be able to convey the strong feelings of the extent of their personal fears, emotional repression, and the verbal and physical abuses from the culture and society. Consequently, the stories I liked best were the ones that revealed more of their struggles – e.g., Chris Needs, Shelley Silas, Phyllis Opoku-Gyimah, Nigel Owens, Gareth Thomas.
Because of its purpose, it pains me a bit to not rate it even higher, because of a few flaws, but it is still an interesting and helpful compilation of stories. Since we in the gay community like the ritual of sharing our unique, personal, emotionally-charged coming out stories because they mean so much to us and bond us, these stories are still powerful, personal and helpful for those still in the process.
I'm excited to have won this as a Goodreads First Read – so thanks!
We've come a long way, baby! What a fun quick read, hearing about how others compare or don’t to my own process of coming out; and I love how this contributes to stopping bullying as well as hopefully helps people with their own struggles. I think of this as a British version of the US’s NO H8 and It Gets Better efforts, and applaud them for it. I also learned about some of the recent history of the gay culture of Britain.
At first I was disappointed the people were British and thus weren’t more well known in the US, but I soon got over that as I got into the stories. In actuality, it’s probably more helpful that the readers can likely relate better to the stories told here because they are more like how most of us have grown up, and even in the more famous folks most of their coming out was before they were famous and thus they were just like the rest of us at the time, thus more a more compelling message.
One disappointment is that there is not more diversity – just a few people of color and none of them black men, only one old enough to have grown up before decriminalization in Britain, and I’m not sure about religious diversity represented. Unfortunately maybe that’s a representation of who is out, thus a reflection of the prejudices still existing in our varied cultures.
While everyone talked about having to deal with prejudices, etc. For most, I felt they were glossed over with a more detached treatment, almost minimizing it maybe so as to encourage and not scare particularly young readers with the heavy stuff of life. It may lay in the art of storytelling to be able to convey the strong feelings of the extent of their personal fears, emotional repression, and the verbal and physical abuses from the culture and society. Consequently, the stories I liked best were the ones that revealed more of their struggles – e.g., Chris Needs, Shelley Silas, Phyllis Opoku-Gyimah, Nigel Owens, Gareth Thomas.
Because of its purpose, it pains me a bit to not rate it even higher, because of a few flaws, but it is still an interesting and helpful compilation of stories. Since we in the gay community like the ritual of sharing our unique, personal, emotionally-charged coming out stories because they mean so much to us and bond us, these stories are still powerful, personal and helpful for those still in the process.
March 10, 2020
This book is so important for kids and even adults to read and understand. There should not be a need for someone to come out and yes, even have to fear for their lives. Read this book, understand it, and LOVE who you love.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews