Introduction / Dan Savage
A message from President Barack Obama / by Barack Obama
You will find your people / by Laurel Slongwhite
The life almost lost / by Bruce Ortiz
In the early morning rain / by Jennifer Finney Boylan
Something has changed within me / by Gregory Maguire
Action makes it better / by Urvashi Vaid
You are a rubber band, my friend / by Brinae Lois Gaudet
God believes in you / by Bishop Gene Robinson
The person worth fighting for is you / by Alex R. Orue
A message from Ellen DeGeneres / by Ellen DeGeneres
Life unfolds exactly as it should (but not as you planned) / by Sean Blane and David Rosen
It gets better for a British soldier / by James Wharton
Getting stronger and staying alive / by Gabrielle Rivera
Coming out of the Shtetl: gay Orthodox Jews / by Marc Tannen
Going back in / by Mare Vaporum Corp
And the Emmy goes to.../ by Barbara Gaines
A message from US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton used by permission of the US Department of State
This I know for sure / by A. Y. Daring
It gets better Broadway / by the contributors to It Gets Better Broadway
Rockin' the flannel shirt / by Krissy Mahan
How it got better for an ordained Christian minister / by Stephen V. Sprinkle
Out of darkness / by Philip Deal
Something special / by Sia Furler
The dinner party / by Adam Roberts
What I wish I knew / by Ivan Coyote
Freedom from fear / by Michael Feinstein
A Message from Prime Minister David Cameron used by permission of the Prime Minister's Office, London
You will meet people who celebrate you / by Jenn and Erika Wagner-Martin
An identity unfolded / by Mark Ramirez
Brothers: it gets better / by Lenox Magee, Rannon Harris, David Dodd, and Kean Ray
Drop dead, warlock / by David Sedaris
Gwendolyn gone / by Meshell Ndegeocello
Growing Up Gay... and KINKY / by Dart
The biggest gift / by Stewart Taylor
A message from Senator Al Franken / by Al Franken
Transsexual prairie girl / by Tamsyn Waterhouse
Art from rage / by Jason Sellards
It gets better / by Bashar Makhay
Too good to be true / by Cameron Tuttle
Journey to a better life / by Juan Carlos Galan, MS
The gay guy in the band / by Kevin Yee
Will I grow up to be Paul Lynde? / by Andy Cohen
Finding who I am / by Hunter Adeline Brady
Community / by Chaz Bono
A message from Nancy Pelosi / by Nancy Pelosi
Gunn's golden rules / by Tim Gunn
Perfect, just the way you are / by Darren Hayes
Where happiness is / by Natalie S. Mandelin
Not-normal / by Michael K. Wells
Darn it / by Kate Clinton
Look at the moon / by Agustn̕ Cepeda
Critical shifts / by Jesse Barnes
For Aideybear / by Ava Dodge
A message from John Berry / by John Berry
The show must go on / by Kyle Dean Massey
Survival Tools / by Ellen Forney
Dear Uncle Ronnie / by randy roberts potts
My office wall / by Trevor Corneil
Keep on livin' / by J. D. Samson
It gets better because you're a little different / by Dave Holmes
Unapologetically, me / by Demetrius Gittens
A collective voice / by Gabe Milligan-Green, Addy Cahill, and Russell Peck
I didn't always wear a tuxedo / by Murray Hill
How I got over / by Tuan N'Gai
A "better" evolution / by Joseph Odysseus Mastro
Save yourself, save the world / by Khris Brown
Becoming an authentic person / by Nicholas Wheeler
On the other side / by Jay Foxworthy and Bryan Leffew
Bully me / by Congregation Beit Simchat Torah
To the bullies / by Tristan Jackson (TJ)
The good fight
by Kristel Yoneda
A message from Kevin Hague / by Kevin Hague
Haters can't gate someone who loves themselves, and if they do, who cares / by Lynn Breedlove
Not playing at a cinema near you / by Rebecca Brown
From "faggot" to field biologist / by Christopher A. Schmitt
It got better / by Stephen D. Lorimor
Our parents as allies / by Lawrence Gullo, Fyodor Pavlov, Eileen Charbonneau, and Ed Gullo
Lesbian teacher believes in you / by Kristin Rivers
Stepping off the sidelines
by Wayne Knaub
My own worst enemy / by Jessica Leshnoff
You are a beloved child of God / by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Transgendered and self-educated in Maine / by Jean Vermette
The power of "You" / by Luan Legacy
It gets better for small towners, too / by Dwayne Steward
To me: with love and squalor / by Terry Galloway
Happiness is inevitable / by Henry Winfiele
Wish I'd been sassier! / by Brian Gallivan
Protect and serve loves Semper Fidelis / by J. D. Davis and Allen D. Stone
The doors of acceptance / by Shaun Ridgway
Hope out of tragedy / by Matthew Houck
Patience makes perfect sense / by Angelo D'Agostino
Christian LGBT kids: you're part of the plan / by Raven Mardirosian
Terrible day / by Patrick Murphy
The worst of both worlds / by Cooter Space
Closets on fire / by Anthony Antoine
The King brothers / by Dick King and Mark S. King
Community found / by Taylor Bailey
From scared to proud: the journey of a gay medical student / by Jake Kleinman
Authentic self / by Sara Sperling
You can live a life that's worth living / by Kate Bornstein
Epilogue / Terry Miller.