A memoir by a woman that I know about coming out as a gay woman at age 60 after many years of marriage in Tyler, TX. I cannot tell you how much I admire this woman - not only for her courage at coming out in a small and very conservative city in East Texas, but also in her determination to confront the bigotry of the Southern Baptist church that she had belonged to her whole life.

She has been an advocate for the LGBT community and made her points with grace and intelligence. I feel privileged to know her and am very glad I read her book. ( )

Out - A Courageous Woman's Journey by Lou Anne Smoot is a heartfelt story of self-acceptance and being true to oneself regardless of the difficulty imposed by others.

The writing is both beautiful and simple, almost conversational. In telling her story, Smoot also helps to empower others to look at themselves honestly and act according to what you find there. She has a big heart and has been better able to avoid lasting anger than I would likely have been able to do.

There are moments that will bring tears to your eyes and there will be a better understanding, one hopes, of both yourself and others behind those tears. That is perhaps where the greatest strength of the book resides, in the enlightened readers who can then live their lives more compassionately toward themselves as well as toward others.

This is certainly of interest to readers of memoirs, especially LGBTQ memoirs. That said, the lessons here apply to anyone who has lived a part of life with hidden sadness and unhappiness.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley. ( )