Table of Contents

	Introduction	p. 1
	A Message from President	p. 9
	In the Early Morning Rain	p. 18
	You Are a Rubber Band, My Friend	p. 27
	Getting Stronger and Staying Alive	p. 45
	This I Know for Sure	p. 64
	It Gets Better Broadway by Members of the Broadway and New York Theater Community	p. 67
	You Will Find Your People	p. 11
	Action Makes It Better	p. 24
	Life Unfolds Exactly As It Should (But Not As You Planned)	p. 40
	The Life Almost Lost	p. 15
	A Message	p. 38
	Something Has Changed Within Me	p. 22
	The Person Worth Fighting For Is You	p. 35
	God Believes in You	p. 30
	It Gets Better for a British Soldier	p. 42
	Coming Out of the Shtetl: Gay Orthodox Jews	p. 48
	Going Back In	p. 54
	A Message from U.S. Secretary of State	p. 62
	And the Emmy Goes to …	p. 59
	Rockin' the Flannel Shirt	p. 71
	How It Got Better for an Ordained Christian Minister	p. 74
	Out of Darkness	p. 77
	I Was a Teenage Lesbian	p. 79
	Something Special	p. 80
	The Dinner Party	p. 82
	What I Wish I Knew	p. 87
	Freedom from Fear	p. 91
	A Message from Prime Minister	p. 94
	You Will Meet People Who Celebrate You	p. 96
	An Identity Unfolded	p. 99
	A Message	p. 102
	Brothers: It Gets Better	p. 104
	Drop Dead, Warlock	p. 110
	Gwendolyn Gone	p. 112
	Growing Up Gay …	p. 114
	The Biggest Gift	p. 117
	A Message from Senator	p. 121
	Transsexual Prairie Girl	p. 123
	Art from Rage	p. 125
	It Gets Better	p. 127
	Too Good to Be True	p. 130
	Journey to a Better Life	p. 133
	The Gay Guy in the Band	p. 138
	Will I Grow Up to Be Paul Lynde?	p. 140
	Finding Who I Am	p. 142
	Community	p. 145
	A Message	p. 147
	Gunn's Golden Rules	p. 149
	Perfect, Just the Way You Are	p. 151
	Where Happiness Is	p. 153
	Not-Normal	p. 158
	Born This Way	p. 162
	Darn It	p. 165
	Look at the Moon	p. 167
	Critical Shifts	p. 169
	For Aideybear	p. 171
	A Message	p. 173
	The Show Must Go On	p. 175
	Survival Tools	p. 177
	Dear Uncle Ronnie	p. 181
	My Office Wall	p. 185
	Keep on Livin'	p. 187
	It Gets Better Because You're a Little Different	p. 189
	Unapologetically, Me	p. 192
	A Collective Voice	p. 195
	I Didn't Always Wear a Tuxedo	p. 201
	How I Got Over	p. 205
	A ôBetterö Evolution	p. 208
	Save Yourself, Save the World	p. 211
	Becoming an Authentic Person	p. 213
	On the Other Side	p. 215
	Bully Me	p. 218
	To the Bullies	p. 220
	The Good Fight	p. 223
	A Message	p. 226
	Not Playing at a Cinema Near You	p. 232
	From ôFaggotö to Field Biologist	p. 235
	It Got Better	p. 238
	Our Parents as Allies	p. 240
	Lesbian Teacher Believes in You	p. 243
	Stepping Off the Sidelines	p. 245
	My Own Worst Enemy	p. 248
	You Are a Beloved Child of God	p. 254
	The Power of ôYouö	p. 261
	It Gets Better for Small Towners, Too	p. 264
	Happiness Is Inevitable	p. 271
	Protect and Serve Loves Semper Fidelis	p. 275
	The Doors of Acceptance	p. 279
	Hope Out of Tragedy	p. 282
	Patience Makes Perfect … Sense	p. 287
	Terrible Day	p. 291
	The Worst of Both Worlds	p. 294
	Closets on Fire	p. 297
	The King Brothers	p. 300
	Community Found	p. 303
	Haters Can't Hate Someone Who Loves Themselves, and if They Do, Who Cares	p. 228
	Transgendered and Self-Educated in Maine	p. 256
	To Me: With Love and Squalor	p. 267
	I Wish I'd Been Sassier!	p. 273
	Christian LGBT Kids: You're Part of the Plan	p. 289
	From Scared to Proud: The Journey of a Gay Medical Student	p. 307
	Authentic Self	p. 310
	You Can Live a Life That's Worth Living	p. 312
	Epilogue	p. 315
	Acknowledgments	p. 319
	Resources
	Some Curriculum Guidelines for Schools and Teachers	p. 321
	The Trevor Project	p. 325
	GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network)	p. 327
	ACLU LGBT Project	p. 329
	Photo and Comic Credits	p. 331
	Permissions	p. 333

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