STRANGER AT THE GATE

Mel White

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN:
  9780671884079
• eBook ISBN:
  9781501123993
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Religious Biographies
• Index: Social Sciences

"Compelling…eloquent and compassionate…We learn as much about growing up in the Christian right as we do about gay life in Mel White's heartfelt and revealing memoir." — San Francisco Examiner Until Christmas Eve 1991, Mel White was regarded by the leaders of the religious right as one of their most talented and productive supporters. He penned the speeches of Oliver North. He was a ghostwriter for Jerry Falwell, worked with Jim Bakker, flew in Pat Robertson's private jet, walked sandy beaches with Billy Graham. What these men didn't know was that Mel White—evangelical minister, committed Christian, family man—was gay. "An engrossing journey to unite sexuality with faith" ( Dallas Morning News ), Stranger at the Gate details Mel White's twenty-five years of being counseled, exorcised, electric-shocked, prayed for, and nearly driven to suicide because his church said homosexuality was wrong. But his salvation—to be openly gay and Christian—is more than a unique coming-out story. It is a chilling exposé that goes right into the secret meetings and hidden agendas of the religious right. Told by an eyewitness and sure to anger those Mel White once knew best, Stranger at the Gate is a warning about where the politics of hate may lead America…an important book by a brave man whose words can make us both richer in spirit and much wiser too.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Dedication
• Foreword
• Epigraph
• Chapter One: In the Beginning—The Ghost of Silence
• Chapter Two: Adolescence—The Ghost of Fear
• Chapter Three: High School—The Ghost of Loneliness
• Chapter Four: College—The Ghost of False Hope
• Chapter Five: 1962-64, Learning to Tell the Truth
• Chapter Six: 1964-70, Learning About Friendship
• Chapter Seven: 1970-80, Taking the First Steps Toward Integrity
• Chapter Eight: 1980-81, Facing Reality
• Chapter Nine: 1981, Surviving Infatuation and Isolation
• Chapter Ten: 1982-83, “It’s Going to Be All Right, Dad!”
• Chapter Eleven: 1984-90, Giving Up the Ghost!
• Chapter Twelve: 1990-91, One Last Year of Silence
• Chapter Thirteen: 1991-93, A Ghost No More!
• Chapter Fourteen: 1993-94, Time for Doing Justice!
• Appendix: Six Letters to the Religious Right
• Photographs
• Author’s Notes, References, and Resources
• A Few Ideas to Help You and Your Community
• Gay/Lesbian Religious Organizations
• Lesbian/Gay Political and Cultural Organizations
• The Cathedral of Hope
• Special Thanks
• Copyright