Soldier of Change: From the Closet to the Forefront of the Gay Rights Movement

by Stephen Snyder-Hill, George Takei (Foreword by)

Overview

When “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the official U.S. policy on gays serving in the military, was repealed in September 2011, soldier Stephen Snyder-Hill (then Captain Hill) was serving in Iraq. Having endured years of this policy, which passively encouraged a culture of fear and secrecy for gay soldiers, Snyder-Hill submitted a video to a Republican primary debate held two days after the repeal. In the video he asked for the Republicans’ thoughts regarding the repeal and their plans, if any, to extend spousal benefits to legally married gay and lesbian soldiers. His video was booed by the audience on national television.

Soldier of Change captures not only the media frenzy that followed that moment, placing Snyder-Hill at the forefront of this modern civil rights movement, but also his twenty-year journey as a gay man in the army: from self-loathing to self-acceptance to the most important battle of his life—protecting the disenfranchised. Since that time, Snyder-Hill has traveled the country with his husband, giving interviews on major news networks and speaking at universities, community centers, and pride parades, a champion of LGBT equality. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781612346977
Publisher:	Potomac Books
Publication date:	09/15/2014
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

STEPHEN SNYDER-HILL joined the military in 1988 and served nearly three years on active duty in Germany and fought in the first Gulf War in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Kuwait before his honorable discharge in 1996. He reenlisted in 2001 and was deployed to Iraq in support of Operation New Dawn in 2010. Throughout his military career Snyder-Hill received numerous awards and decorations, including the Meritorious Service Medal. GEORGE TAKEI is an actor, social justice activist, and author of Oh Myyy! There Goes the Internet. He is best known for his portrayal of Sulu in the Star Trek television series and movies.

Table of Contents

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgments

1. A Leap of Faith

2. Don’t Say Gay

3. Boot Camp and Bible Study

4. Lost and Found in Iraq

5. Pink Triangles

6. Just Be You

7. Back in the Saddle, Back in the Closet

8. This Looks Like a Gay Dude’s House

9. Jessica Josh

10. Cemetery Ceremony and Insensitive Sensitivity

11. The Debate

12. The Fallout

13. The Lawsuit

14. Prepping for the Public Eye

15. Did Rosa Parks Have a Roommate?

16. The Right to Hyphenate

17. Presidential Momentum

18. One Year of Freedom

19. All Aboard the c-bus of Love

20. Chariots and Superheroes

21. Activism vs. Politics

22. Trust the Power of Your Voice

Epilogue

Editorial Reviews

07/14/2014
The profound damage done to gay and lesbian soldiers under the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy is keenly observed in this memoir by Snyder-Hill, an openly gay soldier who gained national attention in 2011 when he was booed by Republicans during a presidential debate. Using this incident as a framing device, Snyder-Hill recounts his experiences, beginning at age 19, when he served in the first Gulf War under the ban on gays in the military, and in 2010, under DADT. After years of living openly, and rejoining the military after the September 11 attacks, his candid rendering of life in, out, and back in the closet is intentionally jarring and infuriating in its arbitrariness, while the generally relaxed, frequently humorous reaction in the military to his public coming out reveals much about the hurtful lie at the center of DADT. With courageous vulnerability, he reveals the pain and anger of being required to lie in order to serve. Leaving for Iraq, he is forced to pretend that his partner, Josh, is his brother, and while other couples say good-bye, he writes: “I looked over at Josh, and he was all alone.” Snyder-Hill offers a moving and insightful epitaph to a destructive policy. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Stephen Snyder-Hill has written a compelling account of his experience as a closeted gay soldier in the era of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. It is at once a heart-wrenchingly intimate look at the corrosive consequences of being forced to live a double life, a love story, and a profile in hard-won courage. The book chronicles his journey from fear and secrecy to an unforgettable moment on the national stage—and beyond.”—Christopher Goffard, author and staff writer for the Los Angeles Times

“Here is the tale of an eagle who awakes to find himself shackled. He beats his wings and struggles mightily until his chains give way and he’s allowed to soar skyward. But listen and hear the rasp in his cries for freedom. Look and see his mighty wings are torn, his proud legs bloodied. Who dared enslave this majestic creature? Read his story and know the price paid for intolerance and the limitless joy of triumph.”—Harvey Fierstein, Tony Award-winning actor and playwright

From the Publisher

“Read [Snyder-Hill’s] story and know the price paid for intolerance and the limitless joy of triumph.”—Harvey Fierstein, Tony Award–winning actor and playwright

Harvey Fierstein

“Stephen Snyder-Hill has written a compelling account of his experience as a closeted gay soldier in the era of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’ It is at once a heart-wrenchingly intimate look at the corrosive consequences of being forced to live a double life, a love story, and a profile in hard-won courage. The book chronicles his journey from fear and secrecy to an unforgettable moment on the national stage—and beyond.”—Christopher Goffard, author and staff writer for the Los Angeles Times  

 

Christopher Goffard

"[Soldier of Change] is an important story to read if you need to know where LGBT rights have been and whose brought them forward. It’s also one to enjoy if you want an informal, easy-to-like memoir. Even in this post-DADT time, Soldier of Change is a book to call for."—Terri Schlichenmeyer, Washington Blade

Washington Blade - Terri Schlichenmeyer

2014-07-06
A memoir from the U.S. Army soldier booed at the Republican presidential primary debate of 2011 for asking about upholding the rights of gay and lesbian soldiers. Snyder-Hill (formerly Steve Hill) is a gay man who was deployed twice to Iraq: first, as a 20-year-old member of the active Army in 1991, when the U.S. military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy was in full swing; and 20 years later, as a reservist when DADT was just getting repealed. In his relentlessly forthright memoir, the Ohio native sifts through the long, emotionally arduous journey to that moment in 2011 when he allowed his identity to be used publicly in his question to Rick Santorum, knowing the "fallout" that surely would follow among his Army peers and superiors and even risking his benefits and retirement. Ultimately, however, the author decided that he could not continue to lie about such a significant part of his identity. He writes poignantly of that "darkness" inside him that he did not understand while growing up in his small Ohio town. Not able to connect romantically with girls—though he knew that his parents expected it of him—Snyder-Hill was severely closeted throughout his teens, often undergoing torments of self-loathing without understanding why. At the end of his first deployment in Iraq, nearly hit by friendly fire, he swore to himself that if he lived, he would start living life for himself. At Ohio State University, he gradually came out to friends and family. Redeployment as a reservist meant having to hide again, especially the fact of his love and marriage to partner Josh Snyder. The author effectively underscores the damage and suspicions that DADT caused and reveals the heartening and often surprisingly support he received from all directions. How one man's resolve gave courage to others and how he turned his public outing into an important surge of activism.

Kirkus Reviews