The book basically takes you on a self discovery tour of looking inside yourself to not only understand why and how homophobia has effected your life, it also gives wonderful insights on how to deal with your issues and to eventually heal.
Split into 2 parts, the first half of the book describes homophobia and growing up in a homophobic culture and it's effect on you. Absorption of others' homophobia can have such a profound effect on our ability to accept ourselves and lead happy, meaningful lives, so to understand where homophobia comes from and the effect it can have is the first part of the journey.
The second half of the book describes the healing process and recovery from self hate and abuse. Learning to deal effectively with your emotions and developing stragies for overcoming self destructive behaviour is extensively detailed.
A helpful bonus is the end-of-chapter sections 'Relating these ideas to your own experience' - an exercise encouraging detailed thought about your own experiences and analysing them with the knowledge contained in this book. A hugely successful inclusion and more effective than having practical exercises which may be difficult if they don't relate to your particular circumstances.
The book is very detailed and quite a read. With high level of readability the author is very detailed in his writing and I often found my thoughts wondering to my own situation rather than reading what was on the page. However I consider this to be a bonus - immediately I was thinking about my own situation and applying the knowledge within the book. So it seems the book was written to encourage our thought processes and it works brilliantly.
As a gay man, I gained the knowledge that I am homophobic. Quite a realisation for a gay man - we spend our entire lives having to deal with it, but I am one of them. Now I can deal with it effectively by considering the influences in my life, looking inside myself and dealing with my emotions.
To gain the maximum effect from this book, one must be a dedicated reader and willing to open oneself up to dealing with your emotions, but the results are worth it. I feel as though I have reach a major turning point in my life and from this point on I can only become better.