It gets better: coming out, overcoming bullying, and creating a life worth living

Introduction / by Dan Savage

Introduction / Dan Savage --

A message from President Barack Obama / by Barack Obama --

You will find your people / by Laurel Slongwhite --

The life almost lost / by Bruce Ortiz --

In the early morning rain / by Jennifer Finney Boylan --

Something has changed within me / by Gregory Maguire --

Action makes it better / by Urvashi Vaid --

You are a rubber band, my friend / by Brinae Lois Gaudet --

God believes in you / by Bishop Gene Robinson --

The person worth fighting for is you / by Alex R. Orue --

A message from Ellen DeGeneres / by Ellen DeGeneres --

Life unfolds exactly as it should (but not as you planned) / by Sean Blane and David Rosen --

It gets better for a British soldier / by James Wharton --

Getting stronger and staying alive / by Gabrielle Rivera --

Coming out of the Shtetl: gay Orthodox Jews / by Marc Tannen --

Going back in / by Mare Vaporum Corp --

And the Emmy goes to.../ by Barbara Gaines --

A message from US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton used by permission of the US Department of State --

This I know for sure / by A. Y. Daring --

It gets better Broadway / by the contributors to It Gets Better Broadway --

Rockin' the flannel shirt / by Krissy Mahan --

How it got better for an ordained Christian minister / by Stephen V. Sprinkle --

Out of darkness / by Philip Deal --

Something special / by Sia Furler --

The dinner party / by Adam Roberts --

What I wish I knew / by Ivan Coyote --

Freedom from fear / by Michael Feinstein --

A Message from Prime Minister David Cameron used by permission of the Prime Minister's Office, London --

You will meet people who celebrate you / by Jenn and Erika Wagner-Martin --

An identity unfolded / by Mark Ramirez --

Brothers: it gets better / by Lenox Magee, Rannon Harris, David Dodd, and Kean Ray --

Drop dead, warlock / by David Sedaris --

Gwendolyn gone / by Meshell Ndegeocello --

Growing Up Gay... and KINKY / by Dart --

The biggest gift / by Stewart Taylor --

A message from Senator Al Franken / by Al Franken --

Transsexual prairie girl / by Tamsyn Waterhouse --

Art from rage / by Jason Sellards --

It gets better / by Bashar Makhay --

Too good to be true / by Cameron Tuttle --

Journey to a better life / by Juan Carlos Galan, MS --

The gay guy in the band / by Kevin Yee --

Will I grow up to be Paul Lynde? / by Andy Cohen --

Finding who I am / by Hunter Adeline Brady --

Community / by Chaz Bono --

A message from Nancy Pelosi / by Nancy Pelosi --

Gunn's golden rules / by Tim Gunn --

Perfect, just the way you are / by Darren Hayes --

Where happiness is / by Natalie S. Mandelin --

Not-normal / by Michael K. Wells --

Darn it / by Kate Clinton --

Look at the moon / by Agust̕n Cepeda --

Critical shifts / by Jesse Barnes --

For Aideybear / by Ava Dodge --

A message from John Berry / by John Berry --

The show must go on / by Kyle Dean Massey --

Survival Tools / by Ellen Forney --

Dear Uncle Ronnie / by randy roberts potts --

My office wall / by Trevor Corneil --

Keep on livin' / by J. D. Samson --

It gets better because you're a little different / by Dave Holmes --

Unapologetically, me / by Demetrius Gittens --

A collective voice / by Gabe Milligan-Green, Addy Cahill, and Russell Peck --

I didn't always wear a tuxedo / by Murray Hill --

How I got over / by Tuan N'Gai --

A "better" evolution / by Joseph Odysseus Mastro --

Save yourself, save the world / by Khris Brown --

Becoming an authentic person / by Nicholas Wheeler --

On the other side / by Jay Foxworthy and Bryan Leffew --

Bully me / by Congregation Beit Simchat Torah --

To the bullies / by Tristan Jackson (TJ) --

The good fight --

by Kristel Yoneda --

A message from Kevin Hague / by Kevin Hague --

Haters can't gate someone who loves themselves, and if they do, who cares / by Lynn Breedlove --

Not playing at a cinema near you / by Rebecca Brown --

From "faggot" to field biologist / by Christopher A. Schmitt --

It got better / by Stephen D. Lorimor --

Our parents as allies / by Lawrence Gullo, Fyodor Pavlov, Eileen Charbonneau, and Ed Gullo --

Lesbian teacher believes in you / by Kristin Rivers --

Stepping off the sidelines --

by Wayne Knaub --

My own worst enemy / by Jessica Leshnoff --

You are a beloved child of God / by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America --

Transgendered and self-educated in Maine / by Jean Vermette --

The power of "You" / by Luan Legacy --

It gets better for small towners, too / by Dwayne Steward --

To me: with love and squalor / by Terry Galloway --

Happiness is inevitable / by Henry Winfiele --

Wish I'd been sassier! / by Brian Gallivan --

Protect and serve loves Semper Fidelis / by J. D. Davis and Allen D. Stone --

The doors of acceptance / by Shaun Ridgway --

Hope out of tragedy / by Matthew Houck --

Patience makes perfect sense / by Angelo D'Agostino --

Christian LGBT kids: you're part of the plan / by Raven Mardirosian --

Terrible day / by Patrick Murphy --

The worst of both worlds / by Cooter Space --

Closets on fire / by Anthony Antoine --

The King brothers / by Dick King and Mark S. King --

Community found / by Taylor Bailey --

From scared to proud: the journey of a gay medical student / by Jake Kleinman --

Authentic self / by Sara Sperling --

You can live a life that's worth living / by Kate Bornstein --

Epilogue / Terry Miller.