When is coming out worth the risk?

If there’s any common thread to the posts I’ve shared here so far, it’s that coming out is often an extremely fraught decision.

Who do we risk losing when we come out? Especially in Scouting, where many of us have forged tight bonds, it can feel like coming out is a risk to our relationships that isn’t worth taking.

This obviously applies to any relationships we have in life. Personally, I’ve found it difficult to navigate the relationship I have with my surviving grandparents, who are Italian immigrants. I mention that last part not to stereotype them, but to underscore a simple fact: A language barrier makes it difficult for us to understand each other, and would only complicate the coming-out conversation.

I found myself grappling anew with this question around Thanksgiving, so I decided to ask the experts for advice. What I found is summed up in a story I wrote for Rewire a couple of weeks ago. I hope you learn as much from this as I did:

Is Coming Out To Your Grandparents Worth the Risk?

To a surprising degree, they often become allies — sometimes even more than parents. (Read the whole story here).

Now that I’ve been doing this newsletter for a few weeks, I’m curious if y’all have feedback about the content. What do you want more of? Less of? Is there anything else you think I should know? Please feel free to reply and tell me what you think!