Pasfield criss-crossed the United States photographing gay men and couples (plus a few triads) and collecting their stories, hoping to create "the book I wish had existed when I was a kid." Any way you measure the breadth of his search--from William, who returned to his home on Alabama's Gulf Coast after more than a decade abroad, to Paul, a college student in Wyoming; or from the "true gay redneck" in Maryland to the Iowa drag queen--he's found a lot of powerful stories. Several of his subjects came out as gay only after years of marriage, for example, while others are carrying on with their lives after the loss of a longtime partner. And some live quietly in their communities as, in the words of one couple, "pretty plain, low-key" folks. Each story offers its own version of gay identity; together they form a rich tapestry of optimism and possibility. --Ron Hogan, founder of Beatrice.com