As writers for children, we often navigate the line between too little and too much gritty realism. For one thing, we don't want to cut out a giant portion of our audience because of the censors.
I always sneered at censorious parents till this summer when my daughter got a part in "The Laramie Project,” at camp. It's about that poor kid in Wyoming who was beaten to death for being gay. I didn't stop her, mind you, but I fretted about it to everyone who would listen.
I always sneered at censorious parents till this summer when my daughter got a part in "The Laramie Project,” at camp. It's about that poor kid in Wyoming who was beaten to death for being gay. I didn't stop her, mind you, but I fretted about it to everyone who would listen.
“It must be one of those ‘socially conscious’ camps,” my
boss offered dubiously.
“Well, you wanted her to do
something besides Guys and Dolls," my husband said.
My best friend texted
me back: she's happy about it you're happy about it
But I wasn’t happy about it. I'm not a Bible-thumper. I support gay marriage. I just didn’t want my girl immersed in the most morose, miserable story possible at camp. I thought it was all wrong for her. Was I right? You look at her face and tell me.
