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Acknowledgments This book is dedicated to the adolescents and young adults who generously shared their stories with me and with our research team, particularly those who allowed me into their lives a second time many years later. I believe their voices will resonate with many readers who pick up this book—most importantly, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) young people who may be struggling to find their own voices in a world of silence. Both to me and to the readers they will inspire, their contributions to this work are immeasurable. My idea for a voice-centered interview project with LGBTQ youth was born in the early 2000s during my doctoral research at the Harvard Graduate School of Education . I could never have conceived of this book were it not for the work and guidance of two women who led Harvard’s Gender Studies program in the department of Human Development and Psychology: Carol Gilligan, whose seminal work provided the foundation for the research and who helped me envision the possibilities for its extension to LGBTQ populations, and Lisa Machoian, who served with me as co–principal investigator on the first phase of the project and who led our team with the utmost thoughtfulness, care, and sensitivity. I am extremely grateful for the ongoing, enthusiastic support of two particularly important members of our Harvard research team, Stephen Chow and Connie Scanlon, who continued to meet with me years after our official team meetings were completed to review transcripts, discuss interpretations, and help get the work published. Without Connie’s and Stephen’s insights and constant belief in the importance of hearing the voices of LGBTQ youth, this book would never have come to fruition. In addition, I acknowledge several current and former Harvard faculty members who played key roles in helping me conceptualize the work in its early stages: Mary Casey, who taught me how to conduct cross-case analysis and cheered me on as a writer; Renée Spencer, who helped guide me toward important foundational literature; and 176 Acknowledgments Jocelyn Chadwick, Michael Nakkula, and Terry Tivnan, a dissertation committee who for years gave generously of their time, advice, knowledge, and expertise. Although I cannot mention them by name (to protect the anonymity of the research participants), I am immensely grateful to the adult advisors of the two community -based organizations through which I originally met the youth who participated in this project. As the accounts in this book attest, these advisors are heroes for the work they do every day mentoring LGBTQ young people and providing them with a place to be heard. This work would never have moved from manuscript to book without the enthusiastic support of Mick Gusinde-Duffy at Temple University Press. From my initial contact with Mick, he provided that boost that every writer needs when completing a project—the sense that someone else “gets it” and can envision, as you do, the contribution it can make to the field. I will forever be indebted to Mick for his unwavering belief in this book and his gracious shepherding of it throughout the process. I am also extremely grateful for the meticulous work of project manager Rebecca Logan and for Gary Kramer’s enthusiastic and thoughtful marketing of the book, which I know will help it reach its widest possible audience. I thank the Spencer Foundation and the Harvard Gay and Lesbian Caucus for supporting Phase I of this research; Patrick Neitz of Bits and Bytes Creative Design, who prioritized transcription of the interviews even when he faced countless other deadlines (no doubt from better-paying clients); and Bernie Gardella, who provided excellent advice, as always, for the resource list. On a more personal note, I thank my family and friends who over the years have helped me find my own voice as both a writer and a person. Thanks to Mom Elsie, to all my brothers and sisters and their families, and to my wonderful friends for their love and support and for always asking, “How’s the book going?” That question has cheered me on more than they know. Thanks, too, to the late Jasper, friend and companion for fourteen years, who sat by my side through much of the writing and, more importantly, helped me relive some of my lost boyhood as an adult. Finally, thanks are not enough for my husband, Robb Fessler, who is, to quote one of my research participants, “the real hero of the story.” A...

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