BE TRUE TO YOURSELF

In this memoir, Stewart chronicles his life and the discrimination he experienced due to his sexuality.

The narrative begins with the author’s realization that he was gay. Stewart took up dancing ballet while also pursuing his interest in engineering, eventually garnering the position of engineer at Rocketdyne, an American rocket engine design and production company. In this role, Stewart asserts he was discriminated against, and he recounts specific instances in which he received threatening notes that read, “Watch your back,” “See you in the parking lot,” and “Pervert.” He claims this behavior escalated to a meeting in which an executive “rose swiftly from his chair, walked around the desk, grabbed me by the front of my shirt, and slammed me against the wall.” Stewart was eventually terminated, and he attributes his difficulty in finding other engineering jobs to these experiences. This frustration caused him to pivot to working in education; as he taught science to middle- and high-school students, he became more heavily involved in gay activism, specifically with the group Queer Nation. The book concludes with a summary of grievances against each of his past employers. The text is well organized and structured, making it easy to follow and setting a manageable pace. However, some of the essays in the work’s aftermatter are redundant, such as a piece detailing his feelings about ballet being a cult. Stewart’s arguments are not always convincing; he reasons that, in order to be his authentic self at work, he could never lie, even by omission. While this sentiment is valid, it doesn’t support his claims about a discriminatory double standard when he writes that he responded to students’ questions about his sexual activities—it would also be inappropriate for heterosexual teachers to engage with those questions. Still, the stories are engaging and will immerse the reader in the unique life and experiences of the author.

A compelling story of bigotry, love, friendship, and building community.