Doug Green

I Was Born This Way: How About You? Doug Green

In his memoir I Was Born This Way, Doug Green shares his seventy-year journey as a homosexual man and divulges the challenges and life lessons he faced along the way. As a boy growing up in the 1940s, Green endured endless teasing from his peers who mocked his lisp and mincing gait. Timid and fearful, he seemed to disappoint his parents at every turn. As a teenager, a psychiatrist suggested military prep school as a way to encourage Green to outgrow what he considered to be a "phase." But Green knew what he was feeling was not just a stage-he was gay. As Green reveals his early attractions to men, he also discloses how he posed as a heterosexual for many years, a decision that not only hurt himself, but also others in his life. During a time when being homosexual was not widely accepted in society, Green details how a move to New York City finally provided the balm for his shattered self-esteem, eventually leading him into the arms of his life companion. I Was Born This Way offers an honest, self-disclosing glimpse into one man's life as he finds respect, understanding, and finally, self-acceptance.