Monday, November 10, 2008

Author Coaches U.S. Senators on Coming-Out (8/28/07)

LOS ANGELES, CA -- Aug. 28, 2007 -- “Hide and Speak: A Coming Out Guide” will be sent free upon request to any U.S. Senator, including scandal-plagued Larry Craig.

”Gay sex scandals have become way too common -- especially among conservative leaders who oppose gay rights,” said Rev. Kittredge Cherry, a lesbian minister and author of “Hide and Speak.”

Cherry offered the book to Senators today when a media frenzy arose over Craig's arrest for allegedly soliciting gay sex in a public restroom. Craig announced today that he regretted making a guilty plea to a lesser charge and keeping the incident secret from his family, friends and staff.

”Sometimes telling the truth is difficult, but living a lie is even harder,” Cherry said. “Senator Craig is just the latest example of an anti-gay leader caught in a web of lies about a secret gay life.”

Former U.S. congressman Mike Foley and evangelical leader Rev. Ted Haggard officially opposed gay rights until recent gay sex scandals ended their public careers. They all might have prevented their scandals by following the book’s powerful program of self-acceptance and appropriate disclosure. The coming-out guide gives practical help with the coming-out process for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) people -- and anyone else with a story to tell.

Each chapter of “Hide and Speak” includes real life examples and tested, highly effective exercises used by Cherry in coming-out workshops nationwide. She tells positive ways to come out to oneself, create a circle of supporters and deal with family, job and school. Readers will learn how to live proud, free and balanced, no matter what happens.

”Senator Craig needs coming-out advice, but so do many others,” Cherry said. “Queer teens are exploring their sexual orientation at younger ages. Lesbian and gay soldiers are facing the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy while they fight in Iraq. Transgender surgery is now common. ‘Hide and Speak’ is the right resource for all of these challenges and more.”

“Hide and Speak” is not just about homosexuality. The life-changing handbook is useful for all people who struggle with secrets and their consequences.

U.S. Senators are invited to request their free copy by contacting kitt@JesusInLove.org or visiting www.JesusInLove.org.

“Hide and Speak” was recently released by AndroGyne Press, a new queer studies press based in Berkeley, CA.

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Publisher: AndroGyne Press (Oct. 2006)
Price: $16.95
Paperback: 162 pages
ISBN: 1933993111

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