"Chasing the Flame: A Gay Narrative in Photographs: A Gay Millennial's Progress from Shunned Student to Drag Star" is pending publication on Amazon Books and Kindle,and will be available this February.
The text follows the plight of Michael Mangus, a 14 year old North Tonawanda , New York high school student in 2005, who was bullied in school for his gay identity. Things reached a crisis point when he received a written death threat, and was forced to leave the dangerous environment.
The story takes us through Michael and his mother's - a former school teacher - 5 year struggle with school administrators and state offices, and escalates to the Supreme Appellate Court level. Chicago attorney and gay advocate Jay Paul Deratany lends his help, but eventually it is Michael's determination to embrace and celebrate his gay identity which is the key to the resolution.
The text follows the plight of Michael Mangus, a 14 year old North Tonawanda , New York high school student in 2005, who was bullied in school for his gay identity. Things reached a crisis point when he received a written death threat, and was forced to leave the dangerous environment.
The story takes us through Michael and his mother's - a former school teacher - 5 year struggle with school administrators and state offices, and escalates to the Supreme Appellate Court level. Chicago attorney and gay advocate Jay Paul Deratany lends his help, but eventually it is Michael's determination to embrace and celebrate his gay identity which is the key to the resolution.
The 112 page, 8 x 10 soft-cover glossy book contains over 70 images of Michael, in his "boy identity", and as his stage persona, "Anita Waistline". It will also be available as an ebook and Kindle book on Amazon.
Michael Mangus is one of the youngest drag performers to be listed with New York's official Drag Queen Registry. He has performed at clubs in the Buffalo, New York, Toronto, and Ontario , CA areas. A reception for Michael is being planned in Provincetown on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, for August 2011.
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