Title: GOLDEN MEN: The Power of Gay Midlife (2022)
Author: Harold Kooden Ph.D.
Publisher: TBA
ISBN: 979-8218071196
Pages: 605
Genre: Health, Fitness & Dieting / Psychology & Counseling / Psychotherapy, TA & NLP
Reviewed by: Anthony Avina
Pacific Book Review
A deeply important and consequential study of psychology that has emerged more in recent years due to society’s attempts to further accept the development of sexuality as a spectrum is the impact of coming out. Whether it is due to the hardships and struggles faced by the broader societal scrutinies that a person must endure, or the more personal family or religious-based judgements that so many people have to go through, the process of coming out has always been a difficult journey no matter what age they go through.
It is that study which drives author Harold Kooden, Ph.D.’s GOLDEN MEN: The Power of Gay Midlife. The book is a unique study of not only coming out as a gay man, but how it impacts older gay men in their middle age and beyond. The book explores everything from body image and sexuality to the self-esteem and self-validation and beyond, the book not only explores a gay man’s discovery of life after coming out and how it prepares a person for middle age, but the impact coming out and the lessons the author discovered can have on all people and walks of life who come out in their own way.
The book presented perfectly as both an educational look into the psychology behind coming out and living life as an out gay man, and the more inspirational, personal writings from an author who had experienced that himself. Originally published in the year 2000, the lessons and experiences of the author both at that time and in the years since are perfectly articulated in this updated book, with the book highlighting the aging process in conjunction with the psychological impact of coming out. The book is incredibly detailed and offers readers an engaging experience which covers the cultural, social, and more introspective impacts that living life as a member of the LGBTQ community can have on a person.
It is that aspect which most resonates in this updated version of the book, as the book, originally written from and for the perspective of a gay man, now holds so many valuable and important lessons for readers from all walks of life, from all genders to all sexualities and beyond. Readers who appreciate non-fiction books, especially those that discuss LGBTQ topics, psychology, sociology, and give a more personal perspective to it all will thoroughly enjoy this book. The conversational way the author wrote this book was greatly appreciated, giving more importance to topics such as the hardship so many men faced (and continue to face) when dealing with homophobia and how it impacted their ability to come out as a whole, and the equal attention paid to the process of aging and the lessons one can learn from both was enlightening as well.
