I’m sure you’ve seen or heard the saying, ‘Be kind, for everyone is fighting a battle you know nothing about’ (Attributed by many to Plato). That’s undoubtedly true. We all have battles, whether from childhood, work, or within. Whether these battles are significant or concern everyday problems, we all have our struggles. We all fight them. Some of us fight them internally, while others need help. Whether that help is forthcoming can become part of the battle.
The author of Light Come Out of the Closet, Roger Leslie, is no different than anyone else. As a child and later as a teen, he fought to accept himself. With two divergent viewpoints pushing against each other, Roger became confused and internalized ideas that only served to hurt his mental health. As he became more self-aware, the differing views and his observations threw Roger into a depression he struggled to climb out of.
Depression then skews how they view people, their actions, and words. That often incorrect view then ‘validates’ the depression, which skews the person’s impressions of the world around them. The cycle of depression is hard to break, particularly when you feel there is no one, anywhere, who could possibly understand.
Roger grew up in the Catholic Church, attending Catholic school. His parents held the commonly accepted views of the Catholic community of the 60s and 70s. Which is to say, being gay was not proper conversation and was not accepted. Add in emotionally distant parents common for that time, and Roger fought his battle alone.
As a student in a Catholic school, Roger became depressed, feeling as though he could not connect with his teachers or fellow students. Not only could he not connect with anyone, he felt their disapproval whether real or imagined. Once he was caught in the throes of depression, it became hard to pull himself out. This is an important theme throughout Light Come Out of the Closet. Depression can become a neverending circle once begun. Something triggers it, whether something someone said, a look, an action, something triggers the depression.
Light Come Out of the Closet is the story of Roger’s life, hitting rock bottom, and the revelations that came out of it. This book boils down to a story of self-discovery, perseverance, and hope. It’s the story of a young man left to figure out who he was at a time when there was no one to ask for, or who was willing to help.
This book is well written and is an interesting story about growing up in a time when being gay was not as easily accepted as it is now, and parents often left emotional growth up to their children. I recommend this book to those who feel they are fighting a similar battle for self-acceptance.
I felt the book fell slightly short in the area of readability. The word choice at some points was over the head of many readers. Some of the words were, even for me, fairly advanced, and for some, this would take away from the enjoyment of the book. While for me, it was not often enough to make me put the book down, for others it might.
I would have liked to read more of the emotions Roger felt. This book has the possibility of connecting with readers dealing with their own battles of self-discovery, and in my opinion, Light Come Out of the Closet could have have delved more deeply.
Despite this, I recommend this book to readers on their own journeys to self-acceptance, no matter the subject or area of their life.
Book Score: 7.9/10
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This review was made by Andrea Green, more about her here
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