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Oddly Normal

One Family's Struggle to Help Their Teenage Son Come to Terms with His Sexuality

Author John Schwartz
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Paperback
$24.00 US
Penguin Adult HC/TR | Avery
On sale Sep 03, 2013 | 320 Pages | 9781592408405
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A heartfelt memoir by the father of a gay teen, and an eye-opening story for families who hope to bring up well-adjusted gay adults.

Four years ago, John Schwartz, a national correspondent at The New York Times, got the call that every parent hopes never to receive: his thirteen-year-old son, Joe, had tried to commit suicide. Hours before, he had come out to his classmates— and was met by dismay and confusion. After school he took an overdose of pills.
 
Oddly Normal is Schwartz’s very personal attempt to address his family’s own struggles within a culture that is changing fast, but not fast enough to help gay kids like Joe. Schwartz follows Joe through childhood to the present day, interweaving his narrative with common questions, including: Are effeminate boys and tomboy girls necessarily gay? Is there a relationship between being gay and suicide or mental illness? Should a child be pushed into coming out? Parents, teachers, and counselors alike will welcome Oddly Normal and its crucial lessons about helping gay kids—and any kid who is different—learn how to cope in a potentially hostile world.
John Schwartz is a reporter at The New York Times, where he has written about science, business, law and many other topics that have taken him from the Mojave Desert to Moscow, and from Nanjing to Nashville; he has explored the devastation of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, tumbled in zero gravity, flown a jetpack, and reported stories from river dredges, helicopters and sewers. He also writes a humor column on investing for the Times. A native of Galveston, Texas, John is married to Jeanne Mixon, his college sweetheart. They have three children. View titles by John Schwartz

About

A heartfelt memoir by the father of a gay teen, and an eye-opening story for families who hope to bring up well-adjusted gay adults.

Four years ago, John Schwartz, a national correspondent at The New York Times, got the call that every parent hopes never to receive: his thirteen-year-old son, Joe, had tried to commit suicide. Hours before, he had come out to his classmates— and was met by dismay and confusion. After school he took an overdose of pills.
 
Oddly Normal is Schwartz’s very personal attempt to address his family’s own struggles within a culture that is changing fast, but not fast enough to help gay kids like Joe. Schwartz follows Joe through childhood to the present day, interweaving his narrative with common questions, including: Are effeminate boys and tomboy girls necessarily gay? Is there a relationship between being gay and suicide or mental illness? Should a child be pushed into coming out? Parents, teachers, and counselors alike will welcome Oddly Normal and its crucial lessons about helping gay kids—and any kid who is different—learn how to cope in a potentially hostile world.

Author

John Schwartz is a reporter at The New York Times, where he has written about science, business, law and many other topics that have taken him from the Mojave Desert to Moscow, and from Nanjing to Nashville; he has explored the devastation of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, tumbled in zero gravity, flown a jetpack, and reported stories from river dredges, helicopters and sewers. He also writes a humor column on investing for the Times. A native of Galveston, Texas, John is married to Jeanne Mixon, his college sweetheart. They have three children. View titles by John Schwartz

Additional formats

  • Oddly Normal
    Oddly Normal
    One Family's Struggle to Help Their Teenage Son Come to Terms with His Sexuality
    John Schwartz
    9781101600511
    Ebook
    Avery
    Nov 08, 2012
  • Oddly Normal
    Oddly Normal
    One Family's Struggle to Help Their Teenage Son Come to Terms with His Sexuality
    John Schwartz
    9781101600511
    Ebook
    Avery
    Nov 08, 2012

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