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Lou Anne fell in love with Karen in 1956 when they were both 17 and
freshmen at Baylor University. Her parents told her the relationship was
sinful and unacceptable. Seeing no other option, she followed their
direction, married, and remained faithful to her husband for 37 years.
At age 60, after an incident in her Baptist Sunday School class, Lou
Anne could no longer pretend to be straight. Her struggles to reconcile
her faith with being gay take her into the depths of depression. After
divorcing and ?coming out,? Lou Anne remained in her Baptist church for
an additional fifteen years both to be true to her faith tradition and
as an example of a gay Christian. She emerges as an outspoken advocate
for gay rights.
This story of a retired teacher, mother of four, grandmother of six is told in an unprecedented, brutally honest manner.
Lou Anne fell in love with Karen in 1956 when they were both 17 and freshmen at Baylor University. Her parents told her the relationship was sinful and unacceptable. Seeing no other option, she...
Lou Anne fell in love with Karen in 1956 when they were both 17 and
freshmen at Baylor University. Her parents told her the relationship was
sinful and unacceptable. Seeing no other option, she followed their
direction, married, and remained faithful to her husband for 37 years.
At age 60, after an incident in her Baptist Sunday School class, Lou
Anne could no longer pretend to be straight. Her struggles to reconcile
her faith with being gay take her into the depths of depression. After
divorcing and ?coming out,? Lou Anne remained in her Baptist church for
an additional fifteen years both to be true to her faith tradition and
as an example of a gay Christian. She emerges as an outspoken advocate
for gay rights.
This story of a retired teacher, mother of four, grandmother of six is told in an unprecedented, brutally honest manner.
Out - A Courageous Woman's Journey by Lou Anne Smoot is a heartfelt story of self-acceptance and being true to oneself regardless of the difficulty imposed by others.
The writing is both beautiful and simple, almost conversational. In telling her story, Smoot also helps to empower others to look at themselves honestly and act according to what you find there. She has a big heart and has been better able to avoid lasting anger than I would likely have been able to do.
There are moments that will bring tears to your eyes and there will be a better understanding, one hopes, of both yourself and others behind those tears. That is perhaps where the greatest strength of the book resides, in the enlightened readers who can then live their lives more compassionately toward themselves as well as toward others.
This is certainly of interest to readers of memoirs, especially LGBTQ memoirs. That said, the lessons here apply to anyone who has lived a part of life with hidden sadness and unhappiness.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
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Earl M, Reviewer
Out - A Courageous Woman's Journey by Lou Anne Smoot is a heartfelt story of self-acceptance and being true to oneself regardless of the difficulty imposed by others.
The writing is both beautiful and simple, almost conversational. In telling her story, Smoot also helps to empower others to look at themselves honestly and act according to what you find there. She has a big heart and has been better able to avoid lasting anger than I would likely have been able to do.
There are moments that will bring tears to your eyes and there will be a better understanding, one hopes, of both yourself and others behind those tears. That is perhaps where the greatest strength of the book resides, in the enlightened readers who can then live their lives more compassionately toward themselves as well as toward others.
This is certainly of interest to readers of memoirs, especially LGBTQ memoirs. That said, the lessons here apply to anyone who has lived a part of life with hidden sadness and unhappiness.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
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