Family Outing

By encouraging more than a dozen gay and lesbian young adults (and their parents) to tell their coming-out stories along with her own, Bono transforms what could have been a tell-all celebrity memoir into an essential coming-out guide. In 1990, Sonny and Cher's 20-year-old daughter, Chastity, was outed as a lesbian by the tabloids. Although she had been aware of her sexual orientation by age 13 (and out to her parents by 18--much to Cher's dismay, at first), this public outing sent her scurrying back into the closet for five years. A relationship with an older woman, whom Chastity nursed in a losing battle with cancer, strengthened her commitment to living her life out of the closet. She publicly came out on the cover of the gay newsweekly, the Advocate, in 1995 and began working in the political arena. Bono's own story is one of many oral histories woven by the authors into a tapestry of coming-out tales that range from positive to harrowing. Despite the differing backgrounds and experiences of the protagonists, all stories end with reconciled families feeling closer than before. The author reports that 50,000 young people attempt suicide annually, and 30% of all completed youth suicides are by gay youths. This moving, ultimately reassuring book puts a human face on these statistics and, in doing so, may save lives. Fitzpatrick is a writer and editor. Author tour; U.K. and translation rights, Little, Brown. (Oct.) FYI: October is National Coming Out Month.