GenericMoniker reviewed Without the Mask by Charlie Bird
A positive outlook
4 stars
The author, Charlie Bird, had been Cosmo, the Cougar mascot at Brigham Young University while he was a student there, and had some of his dance videos with the Cougarettes go viral.
He is also gay and struggled to reconcile that at a religious school and as a member of a conservative faith that didn't have a very good track record of accepting that. Things were very difficult at times.
Ultimately he came to feel that his religion and orientation didn't have to be in conflict, that being faithful and gay is being true to his entire self. Also, while he had tremendous anxiety coming out to his friends and family (usually one-at-a-time), it was a positive and affirming experience when he did. Charlie was lucky to have people who loved him and supported him, even when it took some learning on their part to understand Charlie's experiences.