Gay Mentoring Memoir Hits Shelves During National Mentoring Month

Some 9 million American kids wake up every day without enough guidance and support to make the kind of crucial decisions that will shape their futures. It's the kind of support that mentors like author, Aaron Kirk Douglas, believe every child should have access to.

January 2016 marks the 15th year of National Mentoring Month, a campaign aimed at connecting more of our community's young people with caring, invested adults. It's also the month that Portland author and award winning mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters, Aaron Kirk Douglas' first-of-its-kind mentoring memoir comes out.

And it was Douglas' own "coming out," in 1977, that plays an integral part in the story he shares in "Growing Up Twice: Shaping a Future By Reliving My Past" (ISBN: 978-09970501-0-3), as he explores what it's like to be a gay, Jewish man mentoring a troubled young Latino boy named Rico (the son of an undocumented immigrant from Guatemala).

For Douglas, what started as a one page "Friendship Agreement," had, six years later, created a whole new definition of family for both him and the boy he mentored. "At its core the book is really about the search for acceptance by individuals who have been marginalized," says Douglas.

And though Douglas admits he didn't face many of the difficulties and obstacles that Rico experienced (living in the foster care system, the son of an illegal immigrant) he did struggle to retain a sense of hope and faith in the face of anger and rejection at home, while growing up.

Douglas says, "This is not just a story about mentoring with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, it's a story about breaking the traditional mold in that role - about how, I couldn't be just someone who showed up once a week to do homework or go out for ice cream. Rico needed more than that - he needed an invested male role model and a father figure."

"Growing Up Twice" is available on Amazon.com and other online retailers in print, and as an ebook download.

For more information on "Growing Up Twice" visit the publisher's website at: http://www.newsworthybooks.com

About the Author
Aaron Kirk Douglas is a life-long creative, a passionate philanthropist, and award-winning mentor with over a decade's experience in mentoring at-risk youth. A journalism graduate of the University of Oregon and former marketing director at some of the largest and most prominent law and commercial real estate firms in the Pacific Northwest, Douglas is also an award-winning documentary filmmaker, whose film Monster Camp was lauded by Variety. He is currently working on a new musical in development with co-conductor of Broadway's Hamilton, Kurt Crowley.

Expertise & Awards
• Board member, and 10-year volunteer with Big Brothers/Big Sisters Columbia Northwest (Portland, OR)
• Top three finalist, national mentoring recognition from The National Mentoring Partnership (2015)
• Recipient of one of Oregon's highest individual honors for outstanding personal achievement in volunteerism in support of low-income children and families. (2011)
• Nominee, National Big Brother of The Year (2010)

Book Facts
Growing Up Twice: Shaping a Future By Reliving My Past
Publisher: Newsworthy Books, USA
Print: Kindle: Publ. Date: Media kit:
Sources
ISBN 978-09970501-0-3, $14.95, 238 pages, 5.25" x 8" paperback
ISBN 978-0-9970501-8-9 $3.49
Release Date: January 1, 2016
http://www.newsworthybooks.com/media-kit

KATU - AM Northwest (2/14/11)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AJtxMrfLIo&feature=player_embedded

Interview for documentary https://youtu.be/Jbn_QJFTASc?t=1m37s

(The above video interviews feature Douglas' Little Brother's real name, which has been changed to "Rico" in the book, at his request.)

Contact: Vanessa Nix Anthony
Phone: (646) 799-2536
Email: editor@newsworthybooks.com

To post a comment, you must register and login.