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I went to college with Wade and while I didn't know him well, I remembered him having a sharp wit which could be cutting. My mental picture of him is a somewhat heavy kid with glasses who wore an oversized knit sweater...a lot. When Wade's book came out, I told myself I would read it someday. It caused a bit of a stir because he was publicly announcing he was gay. No one who really cared about Wade minded that he was gay but a number of people were upset that he wasn't able to be honest about it.
I thought Wade's book was wonderful. He paints a picture of growing up different in a small, rural community, finding comfort of sorts by stuffing himself with food. At one point he talks about how it was more acceptable to be fat than to be gay. His portrayal of family members is poignant and sometimes downright hilarious. His honest picture of what it was like when he gave up food and embraced exercise, finally admitted his sexual orientation and his first forays into dating as a gay man and his ultimate discovery of Gary, the love of his life are told with self-depricating humor and frankness.
Ultimately, Wade's family accepted him in ways he didn't realize until he came to terms with his own feelings about himself. We all have family issues but Wade's book showed his family realistically but lovingly. That's not easy to achieve.
Kimf
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