Of all the magazine stories I’ve worked on, my recent New York Times Magazine cover piece, “Coming Out in Middle School,” continues to receive the most interest—and positive feedback—from readers across the country. I don’t normally share emails that are sent to me, but I’m going to make an exception today. People often ask me why I’m a writer, why I write about the things I do. This email is why:

I don’t normally write the authors of the articles I read, but I had
to write and thank you for your article “Coming Out in Middle School”.

I have an 11 year old son, and as I was coming out of the shower this
morning, he was 4 feet in front of me pale, looking at me. I asked
what was up, and he said he had something very important to talk to me
about. I asked if he was ok, and he blurted out “I think I’m
bisexual!” and burst into tears, fleeing from the room. Frankly, I
suspected off and on for years, but lived in denial, assuring myself
it would just go away. I also convinced myself that it wouldn’t happen
(his coming out) until he was in his late teens at the earliest if it
happened at all. Wrong on both counts.

Your article was the first thing I read in hours of scouring the
internet for “what the hell do I do now” direction that reassured me,
especially considering his age, to just calm down and listen to the
kid, and not dismiss it with my first instinct, which was “What could
you possibly know at 11?”.

Out of everything I read today, it was the thing that was most on
point for our situation today, at this very moment, and I wanted to
personally thank you very, very much for writing it. It really helped
me – and no doubt my son, who will remember my reaction and what I do
now, no doubt, for a very long time.

There is no greater forum for truly affecting people as a journalist (and for beginning a national conversation on a topic) than the cover of The New York Times Magazine. I am incredibly grateful to my editors there for continuing to give me that opportunity.