Table of Contents

Stranger at the Gate Foreword
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
Author's Notes, References, and Resources

About the Author

Mel White is a writer, filmmaker, and former ghostwriter of books, authobiographies, and speeches for Billy Graham, Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Jim Bakker, and Oliver North. He is the author of such inspirational bestsellers as In the Presence of Mine Enemies and Tested by Fire. Dr. White serves as the National Minister of Justice for the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches from his position as Dean of Dallas's Cathedral of Hope (M.C.C.), the largest gay and lesbian church in the world. He lives with his husband, Gary Nixon, in Dallas, Texas.

Reviews

"An engrossing journey to unite sexuality with faith. Fascinating … harrowing … a remarkable and important story."—Dallas Morning News"A courageous and important book … a clarion call for justice and freedom."—Malcolm Boyd, Episcopal priest, author of Take Off the Mask"[Mel White is] perhaps the finest writer I know … a man of integrity and fairness."—Jerry Falwell, to Daniel Cattau of the Dallas Morning News"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

“Emotionally wrenching.”—San Diego Union-Tribune

“The reluctant, painful, but ultimately joyous merging of the family man, gay man, believer and lover.”—Miami Herald

“The account of a deeply religious man’s coming to terms with his gayness and the impact that process had on his life. A former ghostwriter for Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Billy Graham, and other religious-right personalities, White offers a compelling story; gay readers raised in a fundamentalist Christian environment will find themselves saying, ‘That happened to me.’”—Library Journal

“There are plenty of clergymen’s coming-out stories (most by Anglican priests) and plenty of gay replies to Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and other antigay Christian evangelists, but on both counts, this is the one everybody’s been waiting for.”—Booklist
 

This is the account of a deeply religious man's coming to terms with his gayness and the impact that process had on his life. A former ghostwriter for Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Billy Graham, and other religious-right personalities, White offers a compelling story; gay readers raised in a fundamentalist Christian environment will find themselves saying, ``That happened to me.'' Yet the book's subtitle is somewhat misleading. This is not really so much about being gay and Christian in America as it is the story of one individual's struggles. To describe what it means to be gay and Christian is truly a difficult task; perhaps there is no one concrete definition. Recommended for public, academic, and theological libraries and gay/lesbian resource centers.-Lee Arnold, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

"An engrossing journey to unite sexuality with faith. Fascinating ... harrowing ... a remarkable and important story."-Dallas Morning News"A courageous and important book ... a clarion call for justice and freedom."-Malcolm Boyd, Episcopal priest, author of Take Off the Mask"[Mel White is] perhaps the finest writer I know ... a man of integrity and fairness."-Jerry Falwell, to Daniel Cattau of the Dallas Morning News"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

"Emotionally wrenching."-San Diego Union-Tribune

"The reluctant, painful, but ultimately joyous merging of the family man, gay man, believer and lover."-Miami Herald

"The account of a deeply religious man's coming to terms with his gayness and the impact that process had on his life. A former ghostwriter for Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Billy Graham, and other religious-right personalities, White offers a compelling story; gay readers raised in a fundamentalist Christian environment will find themselves saying, 'That happened to me.'"-Library Journal

"There are plenty of clergymen's coming-out stories (most by Anglican priests) and plenty of gay replies to Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and other antigay Christian evangelists, but on both counts, this is the one everybody's been waiting for."-Booklist