This is a rare unread vintage and out of print copy of BOYS LIKE US Gay Writers Tell Their Coming out Stories, EDITED BY PATRICK MERLA in 1996 and published and distributed AVON BOOKS A division of The Hearst Corporation. 365 pages in length and measures 7 x 1.25 x 9.75 inches. See photos for condition.

“BOYS LIKE US presents the true "coming out" stories of a stellar line-up of gay writers, spanning two generations. Written specifically for this collection, these are powerful, often stunning evocations of the primal process by which men come to terms with their desire for other men.
Coming out is undeniably central to every gay man's life, but the phrase encompasses multiple meanings. Here are accounts of revealing one's sexual identity to parents, siblings, friends, and co-workers and, in one notable instance, to a stockbroker. Men tell of their first sexual encounters from their preteens to their thirties, with childhood friends who rejected or tenderly embraced them, with professors, with neighbors, with a Broadway star. One man writes of his marriage to a lesbian poet, another of leaving his wife for a male lover. Several selections reveal the autobiographical underpinnings of famous novels.

These are intense, sometimes unexpectedly funny tales of romance and heartbreak, repression and liberation, rape and first love -defining moments.

Arranged chronologically from Manhattan in the late '40s to San Francisco in the early '90s, these personal essays ultimately form a documentary of changing social and sexual mores in the United States during the last half-century-a literary, biographical, socio-logical, and historical tour de force.“

A literary agent, editor, and prominent figure in gay publishing, Merla has assembled an extraordinary collection of 29 gay "coming out" stories from writers such as Edmund White, Andrew Holleran, and Stephen McCauley. The authors describe encounters with strangers or friends or even family resulting in revelations that they were gay. Each event may have been dramatic or funny or poignant, but all had a self-defining moment after which their lives would never be the same. Whether the stories concerned coming of age in the South (Allan Gurganus) or having the first sexual experience in Hawaii (Norman Wong) or having a crush on a high school friend in California (Michael Nava), the common thread is firsthand experience. Aside from the sheer literary quality, this book is an important step in providing role models to ease the pain of young gay people as they approach their own self-identity. Highly recommended for all public libraries and especially for gay/lesbian collections.
Richard S. Drezen, Washington Post News Research Ctr., Washington, D.C.

Due to recent delivery issues with the USPS I now ship all magazines, digests and paperback books via Priority Mail. $100 of insurance is included in this price. I’m selling my collection of vintage 1950-1980s gay pulp paperback novels, pictorial & hardcore magazines, physique photography, magazines, artwork & other LGBTQ ephemera.