Letters from the Closet Ten Years of Correspondence That Changed My Life

An honest and poignant look into the deeply intimate yet platonic relationship between a gay English teacher and his young female protégée—each seeking connection and acceptance—as reflected by the decade of letters they exchanged.

It was an improbable relationship from the start—a high school English teacher, still in the closet, and his best student. From the confines—and protection—of his closet, Amy’s teacher wrote these letters, letters that were read, cherished, answered, and then locked away for years. Now Amy looks back at the decade of intimate letters that preceded her teacher’s untimely death, collects the shards left by their clumsy, sometimes violent attempts to unmask each other, and counts again the cost of knowing and being known. Every writer needs a room of his own, but for some people, at certain times, and in certain circumstances, the best you can do is a closet.

Timely and relevant, this is a love story of the most contemporary kind, a rare glimpse into an intimate relationship between teacher and student—a relationship whose effects are still being felt decades later. It’s raw and honest and moving, a poignant commentary on the values that unite us all.

Before writing books, Amy Hollingsworth wrote for various magazines and was a writer for eight years for The 700 Club. She holds a masters degree in counseling psychology and a bachelors degree in both English and psychology. She lives in Fredericksburg, Virginia, with her husband Jeff and their children.