Talking it over

the long version

Kay Mehl Miller’s book, Talking It Over: Understanding Sexual Diversity, is written with compassion, humor, and unflinching honesty. From her own initial reaction of tears and fears at the news that Steve is gay, through happy times with Steve and her new son-in-law Garrett, and on the difficult journey of Garrett’s illness (the nature of which he denied until the day he died) to the aftermath of helping a grieving dispirited son recover, Kay’s book documents her experiences of learning the reality of sexual diversity—a battle for acceptance and recognition of human and civil rights for GLBT people. Her columns appear in alternate chapters of the book and give authority and breadth to her personal experiences. The book is an informal study of the conditions of GLBT life during the 80s and 90s.