And I asked her if she had never heard of Matthew Shepard, Tyler Clementi or any of the kids who killed themselves after being bullied for sexual orientation, and she really couldn’t answer me. For me the most telling moment came when I asked if perhaps their message was not quite getting across, and because of that the people were waving the Bible and using it as an excuse to commit hate crimes against gay people, and this woman I was interviewing burst into tears, and said, “Thank God that’s never happened.” I was speechless. It goes beyond all of their circular logic and their reason why the Bible is an accurate sex manual, or why different studies that have proved gay is biological doesn’t hold water for them.

I just had to keep my cool and not editorialize when I heard things. That was where I had a hard time with my objectivity - not in the writing of the book, but in trying to separate myself out as a researcher instead of the mother of a gay boy when I was going to do my interview. Xtra: Was it difficult talking to rightwing Christian groups while doing your research? It was great that he was willing to come out in high school, which is still a very hard time for young kids.Īll of a sudden this book that I was writing became a very personal mission for me as a mom because, by the time my own son wants to get married and have children, I would really like to know that he doesn’t need to jump through hoops in the US in order to do that. It was wonderful that Kyle felt comfortable enough to speak to us about it, and, of course, we didn’t mind at all. I am sure I knew he was gay when he was three, but it was more of a revelation to him. I was in the middle of writing the book, however, when my oldest son - who was 17 at the time - came out to my husband and me.

I think that it is one of the last sets of human rights that haven’t been granted in our country. Jodi Picoult: I actually began this book thinking that I wanted to write something that specifically focused on gay rights in America because unfortunately, we are not as progressive in America as you in other countries, and it was important to me. Xtra: Why did you decide to write a novel on reproductive rights and the obstacles that same-sex couples face?

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