Chasten Buttigieg brings LGBTQ inclusion message to Lewes library

Chasten Buttigieg hopes his latest book isn’t relevant in the near future.

“I Have Something to Tell You” is the second version of the book. He rewrote it to appeal to young adults.

The husband of Transportation Secretary and former Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg brought his book tour to the Lewes Public Library Oct. 21.

“I really hope we get to a day where young queer people, or just young people in general, don’t have to read books about feeling ostracized or othered for being gay in this country,” Buttigieg said.

“I wanted to focus on childhood, coming into your own sense of identity. I hope it is helpful to young people, but I wrote this book for older people, especially parents and teachers, who might have a young LGTBQ person in their family so they have an opportunity to walk in their shoes,” he said.

Buttigieg said writing the book all over again forced him to relive some things he did not want to think about.

“It required going down some roads that I felt I moved on from, especially bullying and internalized homophobia,” he said. “I thought those things were really important to write about for a young person to understand that somebody had been through it.”

Buttigieg said writing this version of the book was difficult because he and Pete are now parents of 2-year-old twins. “When you’re not sleeping at all and then you want to sit down and write a book about your childhood trauma, that’s a big switch,” he said.

Chasten Buttigieg grew up in Traverse City, Mich., a small, conservative town. He said it was not a welcoming place for gay people when he was growing up.

But he and Pete recently moved back to Traverse City. “For all the trauma and bad experiences, you want to get far away from it. But, [the city] is trying to progress as fast as it can. It had one of the best Pride marches I’ve ever been to, people walking hand-in-hand demanding equality. That inspires me to be part of the solution,” he said.

Buttigieg said the new version of “I Have Something to Tell You” is written for young adults, but is just as much a call to action for parents and teachers.

He said the most important thing they can do is let their kids know they’re loved unconditionally.

“My parents were incredible people, but we never talked about LGBTQ people,” he said. “So I thought if they found out, I would lose them forever. If we had had a 10-second conversation, I could have focused on being a kid rather than living in fear for 18 years.”

The Buttigieg library event was an audience discussion, moderated by local author and humorist Fay Jacobs. A book signing followed.

T.J. Thomas of Lewes said he is reading “I Have Something to Tell You.” He said he came to hear Buttigieg because he thinks the message resonates with Lewes. “This community is so diverse, and from so many different backgrounds, I think there’s something there for everyone,” he said.

Buttigieg took a few minutes before the event to look at the new mural that celebrates banned books in the library’s teen room.

The event was the last of more than 50 events Buttigieg has done across the country, some in states where certain books have been challenged.

He said he is inspired by young people getting involved in important issues. “They are doing incredible work, spending weekends protesting at the state capitol when legislation comes up to ban books,” he said.

Buttigieg said the most important thing he learned in rewriting the book is that there is hope for next generation.

“The kids are alright,” he said.