Doors to Open

Hartford, Connecticut: The Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company, 1963. Near-fine.. A guide for young adults (i.e. young men) embarking on their own in college, offering advice for navigating the new life changes they are facing. Includes quirky illustrations to accompany a range of hypothetical situations such as finding one's social niche, avoiding shyness, and finding one's "masculinity". The last of these situations is a thinly veiled reference to questioning and discovering LGBTQIA+ identity, and makes clear that the hypothetical "George" needs to stifle these questions and stick to heteronormativity: "George is very unhappy, [and] needs help to cope with his festering needs. Otherwise he may settle for a dim life, arrested by a succession of psychosomatic illnesses". Single vol. (5" by 8"), pp. 20, illus., stapled in original illus. wrps. Note that the term "young adults" in this booklet does not extend to women: "Right here let me offer an apology to the girls. We know you have your own special worries. They will be the subject of a booklet we hope will come along soon" (p.1). It is unclear what "special worries" girls have, but we can only assume this involves some kind of preoccupation with getting married and becoming a homemaker, given the date of publication (1963).