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

(Paperback)

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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.

Reviews

Praise for ODDLY NORMAL

Schwartz's frank discussion of a subject many still find taboo will be helpful to parents of LGBT children as one example of how to accept a natural condition with dignity and love. An added bonus is the delightful story written and illustrated by Joe. An honest, earnest, straightforward account of one boy's coming out.
Kirkus Reviews

[A] moving account of a familys journey to raise and protect their gay son Equally humorous and heartrending, this memoir reveals just what it takes to raise children who are different in a world still resistant.
Publishers Weekly

John Schwartz and Jeanne Mixon are the heroes of Oddly Normal. Still, the star of the book is Joe. Its impossible not to fall in love with a kid who, even amid his torment, displays such droll humor and fierce intelligence.
The New York Times Book Review

Schwartz writes a poignant and well-documented account of what it meant to be a father who had tried all he could to make his son feel comfortable, but still came terrifyingly close to losing him.
The Daily Texan

An inspiring story, and much needed at a time when so many others end tragically.
ModernTonic.com

Oddly Normal chronicles the Schwartz familys mistakes, heartaches and triumphs in raising a child coming to grips with his sexuality.
Mother Jones Magazine

Oddly Normal is a funny, touching and indispensible book. Moving as well as buoyant, it will give parents of gay children a great deal of hope.
Gary Shteyngart, New York Times bestselling author of Super Sad True Love Story

John Schwartz has written a moving and important memoir about the challenges that even the most enlightened parents face when bringing up a gay son. Combining personal experiences with rigorous reporting, Oddly Normal will be tremendously useful to anyone raising a child perceived as different.
Charles Kaiser, author of The Gay Metropolis

John Schwartz shares his familys bumpy journey with humor, a journalists eye for detail, and a generous honesty of emotion.
Jennifer Pizer, Senior Counsel and Director of the Law and Policy Project at Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund

Oddly Normal is a book for parents, teachers, and anyone who works with children. Mr. Schwartz illustrates how even the most accepting parents often need assistance staying engaged, to best help a child who is not fitting inin fact, there is a little bit of Joseph Schwartz in every kid.
Joseph Clementi, founder of the Tyler Clementi Foundation
Jeanne and John Schwartz are inspiring parental role models, and Im sure Ill think of them often
Slate.com

Schwartz, an ace reporter for theNew York Times, peppers his emotional response with vital research and telling anecdotes.
Queerty.com

Schwartz's memoir is brave and beautiful, surprising and inspiring, a testament to parents' endless determination to help their children, and the bottomless capacity for love.
CNN.com

[A] very personal, touching, funny and frank memoir. Anyone with a teenager, gay or straight, will be able to relate to a parent's struggle when dealing with their troubled child.
USATODAY.com

Author Bio

John Schwartz is a national correspondent with The New York Times. He currently lives in New Jersey with his college sweetheart, Jeanne Mixon. They have three children and two difficult cats.