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ALONE IN THE TRENCHES
By: Esera Tuaolo
My Life As a Gay Man in the NFL
Sourcebooks
February 2006
276 pages
ISBN: 1402205058
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction Memoir
In the tradition of such important best-sellers as Breaking the Surface by Greg Louganis, Behind the Mask by Dave Pallone and Going My Own Way by Billy Bean, this is a wonderful first-person account by a dirt-poor Samoan immigrant who won a football scholarship to Oregon State, was drafted by the Green Bay Packers and played for the Atlanta Falcons in the Super Bowl. Throughout this journey, Esera Tuaolo carried with him an agonizing secret: he is gay. Alone in the Trenches will take the reader behind the scenes into the world of professional football where as many as twenty-five players would meet for conferences of Christian prayer, during which the preacher would exhort them that homosexuality was a grave sin. Esera, a deeply religious man, would sit through such sessions pinned by his fellow playersΓ―ΒΏΒ½ hatred for his hidden identity. EseraΓ―ΒΏΒ½s story is rife with heartbreak and, ultimately, hope. His beloved older brother and idol died of AIDS having never told his friends and loved ones that he was gay. Esera himself would find love with a man totally different culturally, a native of Minnesota, with whom he would adopt Samoan twins and begin a new life. As Esera puts it: "I am just your typical gay Samoan ex-nose tackle who would like to break into show business." A deeply moving and inspirational story.
 Media BuzzWeekend Edition Sunday - February 5, 2006
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