A little something

Not entirely what I expected, but I thought that it was a good book. Great stories about people's knowing. The short tales that the people gave were welcoming and allowed us, the reader, into their life for a split second.

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Interesting coffee table book

This was a great book filled with small quotes and short reality checks from various personalities. I liked it, but I thought it would be more of a compilation of stories and experiences. So, I think it is a good conversation starter or coffee table book in the appropriate living room.

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More Than a Feeling

Many of us can remember our first kiss, our first day of school, even our first memories. But what about the instant you knew you were gay? In a sleek softbound coffee table book titled When I Knew, Robert Trachtenberg has assembled a brilliant collection of anecdotes and short tales surrounding this very topic.

From actor B.D. Wong to stage and screen composer Mark Shaiman (Hairspray), and from comics to agents and producers, dozens of contributors offer their very personal tales, resulting in both a laugh-out-loud and insightful work. While nearly all of the contributors here are in the entertainment and media industries, the stories are poignant and spare, and are accompanied by the masterful and complimentary original artwork of New Yorker illustrator Tom Bachtell.

Readers will recognize names such as Billy Porter, Chip Kidd, Stephen Fry, Marga Gomez, Michael Shulman, Steve Kmetko, and Lypsynka alias John Epperson. The tales that these and others contribute offer up a naked vulnerability that includes freedom, fear, and revelation. Exposed is a certain liberation-either by intent or accident-that is comedic and quietly profound, as if the point of this book was to induce a trip down the memory lane of self-discovery, a bittersweet time in each of our histories that exposed our naivete, our awkwardness, and our determination to be ourselves, sometimes despite ourselves.

Also included are stories about when parents knew, when everyone else knew, and a few coming out stories. Some of the most memorable tales, bound to induce fits of laughter and a few tears, include an anecdote about a father who catches his son with all of his old bowling trophies as he is on his way to play Academy Awards, three friends who catch their buddy rollerskating in drag to the Xanadu soundtrack, a switcheroo of Underoos, multiple trips to see The Sound of Music because of Julie Andrews in a nun's habit, Steve Levitt's European vacation, the Ms. America pageant held in Jake Lubin's backyard, and Brett Freedman's assault on sister Dee Dee's hairstyling skills.

The surprise ending of Trebor Healy's story gives the book heart, B.D. Wong's poem The Ballad of Baby B gives the book style, Eddie Sarfaty's effective tale Second Guessing Grandma gives the book class, while Andy Towle's contribution ends the book on a perfect note.

As an editor, Trachtenberg does excellently by producing a substantive and yet aesthetically pleasing book. Expect this to be the gift to give, gracing coffee tables all across America. It is Page & Author's first choice as a recommended nominee in next year's Lambda Literary Awards.

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