Lead Me On

Caleb and Bobby

Caleb: I never knew I could love someone as much as I loved Bobby. I had to leave him before my parents forced me into a conversion camp. Leaving my home in Dayton and Bobby, I escaped to Ferndale, Michigan. Rescued from the dangerous Detroit streets by a recently discharged Marine. He and his family offered me a room in their home in Ferndale. I learned that being gay was okay when I met students of color at Ferndale High who accepted this white boy and asked me to join a protest against systemic racism and LGBTQ bullying. To them, I was officially out and they were okay with my gayness.

Bobby: My newly out boyfriend had to leave me because his parents rejected him for being gay. While he ran away to safety in Ferndale, Michigan, my parents worked to be his guardians. Able to return to our home, our love, and our school, Caleb and I worked to educate our schoolmates about issues Caleb learned at Ferndale High. Together we worked to help my twelve year old brother accept his gayness and we rescued an abused kid, giving him love until he found a new home and brother.

This book is about loving, about the discovery of issues in the Black and LBGTQ communities, and about accepting and exploring the differences that exist in the teen community