Coming Out: One Family's Story

This case study elicits the process of coming out of a 6 member family-of-choice of an adult gay man in rural New Hampshire. 27.5 hours of face-to-face interviews were conducted with the family individually and collectively. Reflexivity, as a technique, was used extensively. Four themes were identified: Embracing gay identity, integrating as a family, building social networks, and social awakening. This study addresses the complexities of how multiple individuals negotiate rules and accommodate diverse viewpoints within a family system, provides insight into a family's journey of accepting their gay identity, utilizes personal narratives of family members, and reveals how the reflexive process contributes to a family's creation of new stories. Implications for clinical practice and future research are discussed.