A Ray of Hope



It Gets Better: Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying and Creating a Life Worth Living

by Dan Savage

Savage, D. (2011). It gets better: Coming out, overcoming bullying and creating a life worth living . New York: Penguin Group.

While reading Dan Savage’s It Gets Better: Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying and Creating a Life Worth Living, two old sayings came to mind.

First, it’s been said that people who fall in love feel that no one has ever loved like they do now.  Sadly, the same thing in reverse can be said of the victims of bullying – they can feel that no one has ever felt as alone and tormented as they do now.  One of the best things about Savage’s book is that it lets gay teenagers know they are not alone.  The essays it contains show young victims know they are part of a human community of other gays who likewise survived bullying; so they can too.

Second, an old truism says that one of the greatest human needs is hope.  If we can cling to some shred of hope, we can survive almost anything, and if we lose all hope, we too are lost.  Sadly, people who commit suicide – including the alarming number of gay teens – do so because they feel hopeless.  Another great thing about Savage’s book is that it holds out to gay teens a ray of hope – a ray that begins with the book’s title and shines through all the pages that follow.  Things will get better.

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