Customer Reviews
I write this as a straight spouse - By: , 02 Sep 2003 
I bought this book just after my husband of 9 years told me he was leaving me & our two children for another man, I had hoped to find answers to my many questions,hope for the future,even a story of mixed orientation marriages that have worked. However while I read many pages thinking "thats just like us", the book, I felt, painted a bleak picture. One chapter, concentrating on the children on gay parents terrified me, told the tale of how the children, while being acepting of their dads sexuality in early childhood, rebelled & suffered metal illness in young adulthood-just what I didn't want to hear! I felt there should have been some stories of hope, because when you are in this situation, sometimes hope is alll you have left
The other side of the closet - By: , 07 Jun 2003 
When my husband told me that he was gay my world fell apart. This book helped me realise that I was not the only one in the world that this had happened to & that my feelings were not abnormal. It was a life saver to read that other people were in the same situation & had got through it. It is such a relief to find help for me & my children. This book offers help for wives, husbands & partners of gays, lesbians & bisexuals from alll different situations. The book offers lots of different thoughts & views by real people without telling you what to think ,feel or do. The book helped me though the pain when I had no one I could go to for help.
a bad book - By: , 11 Oct 2002 
As a straight man with a wife who has come out as a lesbian I can recommend anyone in a similar situation NOT to buy this book. The author as a heterosexual woman in the extreme cannot & does not understand the lesbian woman who does not share her pleasure. If a straight man & his lesbian wife want help to come to terms with this & perhaps save a marriage then read Carol Stocks book ¡Married Women Who Love Women¡. The Other Side of the Closet for me was a total waste of money & if this reflects her counseling then those couples have my sympathy.
A good analysis - By: Steve Craddock, 18 Jan 2000 
This book is a good balance, analysing both the str8 & gay spouse's position as well as that of the children involved. I personallly would recommend it to anyone who is going through the struggles involved. Im afraid it doesnt give much hope to those couples who are trying to make it work but has given me much input into what my wife is & has gone through & how I need to keep the channels of communication open both with her & our children.
Offers no hope - By: , 10 Aug 1999 
This book is so negative. The main message is that the marriage is doomed & that the straight spouse has to suffer while a dysfunctional bi/gay partner makes up his/her mind about where he wants to go. It also offers alll sorts of solutions involving sex arrangements with spouses & gay partners - an anathema to most straight spouses. The book convinced me that I must leave my straight wife, because there was no way I could save my marriage. I went as far as putting our house up for sale & making financial arrangements. Then I realized the book was wrong. Over the years I had lost my ability to think with my heart. I had become depressed & used gay sex for comfort. I am trying to save my marriage, no thanks to the book. The book is useful to those couples who maybe didn't have real love there in the first place.
