I encounter a lot of prejudice and a lot of darkness. I have to negotiate constantly through situations that are uncomfortable or difficult or strange.

I'd had a vaguely Jewish upbringing, but no deep connection to faith.

Having always imagined myself in a fairly slim minority, I suddenly saw that I was in a vast company. Difference unites us. While each of these experiences can isolate those who are affected, together they compose an aggregate of millions whose struggles connect them profoundly. The exceptional is ubiquitous; to be entirely typical is the rare and lonely state.

I found it very comforting to see that there is no such thing as a completely normal family. People find their way through whatever the differences may be.

I know one gay ex-Mormon who is a talented, self-destructive alcoholic. Whenever he is drunk and going on a tear, we are back to the Mormon Church and his being thrown out of the Mormon Church and growing up with this sense of being evil.

I look at the rates of suicide among gay teens. They are so, so high for suicide attempts and for completed suicides.

We live in the right time, even if it doesn't always feel like it.