Soldier of Change

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Soldier of Change

From the Closet to the Forefront of the Gay Rights Movement

Stephen Snyder-Hill
Foreword by George Takei

240 pages
22 photographs

Paperback

March 2016

978-1-61234-816-2

$15.95 Add to Cart
Hardcover

September 2014

978-1-61234-697-7

$22.95 Add to Cart
eBook (PDF)
Ebook purchases delivered via Leaf e-Reader

September 2014

978-1-61234-706-6

$15.95 Add to Cart

About the Book

When the U.S. military repealed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” its official policy on homosexuality in the services, Capt. Stephen Snyder-Hill was serving in Iraq. After years enduring the culture of fear and secrecy for gay soldiers, Snyder-Hill submitted a video to a Republican primary debate, asking the participants whether, if elected, they would extend spousal benefits to legally married gay and lesbian soldiers. His video was booed by the audience on national television.

Snyder-Hill’s story riveted the nation’s attention from national news shows to an episode of HBO’s The Newsroom to comments by President Obama. Soldier of Change not only captures the media frenzy as Snyder-Hill took his place at the forefront of this modern civil rights movement but also documents his twenty-year journey as a gay man in the army, which culminated in the most important battle of his life: defending the disenfranchised. 
      
 
 

Author Bio

Stephen Snyder-Hill joined the military in 1988 and fought in the first Gulf War before his honorable discharge in 1996. After reenlisting in 2001, he deployed to Iraq in support of Operation New Dawn in 2010. George Takei is an actor, social justice activist, and author of Oh Myyy! There Goes the Internet. He is best known for his portrayal of Sulu in the Star Trek television series and movies.

Praise

“[The story] of how one man’s resolve gave courage to others and how he turned his public outing into an important surge of activism.”—Kirkus 


“A moving and insightful epitaph to a destructive policy.”—Publishers Weekly 
 

 

"[Soldier of Change] is an important story to read if you need to know where LGBT rights have been and who brought them forward. It’s also one to enjoy if you want an informal, easy-to-like memoir. Even in this post-DADT time, Soldier of Change is a book to call for."—Terri Schlichenmeyer, Washington Blade

“Read [Snyder-Hill’s] story and know the price paid for intolerance and the limitless joy of triumph.”—Harvey Fierstein, Tony Award–winning actor and playwright


Table of Contents

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgments

1. A Leap of Faith

2. Don’t Say Gay

3. Boot Camp and Bible Study

4. Lost and Found in Iraq

5. Pink Triangles

6. Just Be You

7. Back in the Saddle, Back in the Closet

8. This Looks Like a Gay Dude’s House

9. Jessica Josh

10. Cemetery Ceremony and Insensitive Sensitivity

11. The Debate

12. The Fallout

13. The Lawsuit

14. Prepping for the Public Eye

15. Did Rosa Parks Have a Roommate?

16. The Right to Hyphenate

17. Presidential Momentum

18. One Year of Freedom

19. All Aboard the C-BUS of Love

20. Chariots and Superheroes

21. Activism vs. Politics

22. Trust the Power of Your Voice

Epilogue

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