Jonathan Feinn Reading & Book Signing

Jonathan Feinn reads and signs his memoir “Secrets of a Gay Man Growing Up in the 1950s” on Sunday, April 7 from 1:30 to 3:30 PM at Treasure House Books and Gifts, 2012 South Plaza NW in Old Town, Albuquerque, NM. The reading portion will begin shortly after 1:30 PM. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call (505) 242-7204. It has been a long struggle for me to come to a place of self-acceptance. Finally, in my last quarter of life, I’m able to accept I am a gay man who until I was in my 50s was unable to establish a loving relationship with another man. Though society in general has moved forward to some extent from the rigid attitudes of the 1950s, there is greater acceptance of those of us who have chosen to live an alternative life style. There are still many people and organizations today who continue to express harsh judgement and rejection of those of us who don’t fit some rigid and narrow profile of the expected behaviors for a boy, man, girl, or woman in society. My life is proof that growth and change, in our own perceptions, can be achieved. Though all of us experience feelings of hurt, rejection, and disrespect, it’s how we learn to deal with them and the choices we make in our efforts to try to live an authentic life which makes all the difference in our being happy. Friendship and love in our lives are what we all strive to achieve. We can’t determine ahead of time how long that may take to achieve in anyone’s life. Jonathan holds a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois and was trained to serve both as a teacher and administrator providing guidance to staff and to children and adolescents with identified emotional disturbance and behavior disorders. He has served as a consultant to differing programs in both public and private school settings and was the director of a high school off campus learning center serving students who required part-time placement outside the main building. He has held faculty positions at National College in Evanston, Illinois and Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania where he taught students studying for both masters degrees and state certification. Prior to his retirement, he taught gifted elementary students in a ‘pull-out’ program. He is currently retired and continues his love of travel. To date, he has visited 22 countries where he developed meaningful and lasting friendships with people in differing settings throughout the world.