2019 Book Excellence Awards, Winner, LGBTQ 2019 Winner, The Authors Show, Top Female Author in Biography/Memoir Winner of the 2019 Independent Press Award - LGBTQ 2019 Nonfiction Authors Association Book Award 2018 Royal Dragonfly Book Awards 1st place LGBT 2018 Royal Dragonfly Book Awards 2nd place Biography/Autobiography/Memoir 2018 National Indie Excellence Awards Sponsor's Choice Winner 2018 Living Now Awards Bronze Winner in Inspirational Memoir—Female 2018 IAN Book of the Year Awards Third Place Winner in General Non-Fiction 2018 IAN Book of the Year Awards Finalist in LGBT 2018 National Indie Excellence Awards Finalist in LGBTQ Non-Fiction 2018 National Indie Excellence Awards Finalist in Memoir 2018 International Book Awards Finalist: LGBTQ 2018 Readers' Favorites Book Awards Honorable Mention in Non-Fiction—Social Issues 2017-2018 Reader Views Literary Awards second place in LGBTQIA 2017-2018 Sarton Women's Book Awards Finalist in Memoir 2017 USA Best Book Awards Finalist in LGBT Non Fiction 2017 USA Best Book Awards Finalist in Best New Non Fiction 2018 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist in Memoirs (Overcoming Adversity/Tragedy) 2018 International Book Awards Finalist in LGBTQ: Non-Fiction Beverly Hills Book Awards Winner-Regional Non-Fiction -Midwest and Finalist-LGBTQ-Non Fiction "The author writes compellingly about the burden of the closet…the constant emotional labor required to hide her full identity… She writes stirringly, too, about the genuine love between her and her parents and about the ecstasy and terror accompanying sexual awakening…She skillfully executes emotionally weighty scenes [and] movingly renders the complex emotional landscape of living in and out of the closet.”
—Kirkus Reviews
"A candid and kindhearted memoir of one woman’s personal battle.”
—Booklist

"In her sensitive and poignant memoir, You Can't Buy Love Like That: Growing Up Gay in the Sixties, Carol E. Anderson bares her heart and soul to readers so beautifully and intelligently that even if you aren’t gay and weren’t born into a Fundamentalist Christian family in the sixties, you will be deeply moved.”
—Readers’ Favorite

"A captivating story of her struggle with self-acceptance and her journey toward empowerment and self-love… it is a beautiful memoir, well written, and a great book to read!”
—Reader Views

"At the heart of this book is a question: What is love? Carol Anderson offers more than one definition in her fearless, eloquent, emotionally powerful memoir. After reading these pages, you will be much wiser about the ways of the heart. Anderson's father once told her, 'I really admire your spunk.' We see that spunk here, in this book. We also see grace and clarity. And gorgeous writing. You Can't Buy Love Like That will get under your skin, and you will not be able to stop thinking about it. A grand memoir."
—Judy Goldman, author of Losing My Sister: A Memoir

"This book is a rich tapestry of connections that shows us humanity and love in all of its splendor. Carol's story is everyone's story, and she brings her parents to life in a powerful way by incorporating the tides and messages of that time. Many touching moments helped me know how connected and deeply human we all are. I could not put this book down, it is an amazing piece of art."
—Jane Dutton PhD, coeditor of Awakening Compassion at Work: The Quiet Power that Elevates People in Organizations

"We are, according to Joan Didion, well advised to keep on nodding terms with the person we used to be, a declaration that Carol Anderson has clearly taken to heart as she explores her younger self and what it was like, as a gay woman, to have to hide her true identity and her deepest feelings. Written with candor, compassion, and humor, You Can't Buy Love Like That is, like all great memoirs, both specific and universal in its appeal."
—Madeleine Blais, Pulitzer-prize winning journalist and author of Uphill Walkers and To the New Owners

"As a scholar who studies gender, I appreciate the rich socio-historical lens Carol Anderson uses to share the experience of a woman coming out in the sixties. As an avid reader and an admirer of authentic prose, I felt privileged to see her soul, all the tender spots and the strong, resilient parts too. I gained so much from this memoir. Truthful and beautifully written, Anderson?s insightful journey is a reminder of the privilege of choice, the importance of voice and the power of love."
—Stacy Blake-Beard, PhD, Ellen Gabriel Deloitte Chair of Women and Leadership, Simmons College School of Management

"Finding the love you yearn for requires a courageous step: telling the truth about who you are. And that?s especially delicate when all you hear is that you're dangerously different. Carol Anderson's eloquent voice and compelling story pinpoint a time in recent history when secrets held gay and lesbian people hostage, and unspoken truth poisoned our lives. Fortunately, though, her fearless, impassioned words are a particularly vivid reminder that, with a commitment to honesty, curiosity, and love, we can use our own stories—and our own differences—as a resource and an invitation to listen more deeply for the messages of emerging possibility all around us."
—Peter F. Norlin, PhD, Principal, ChangeGuides Consulting, Former Associate Editor of the Organization Development Practitioner

"Carol Anderson's memoir of secretly coming to know and explore her sexuality while growing up in an evangelical family that barely allowed for the idea of gayness is a powerful account of middle American life during the sexual revolution. But it is also something more: - a reflection on the meaning of living in secrecy among those we love. An important contribution."
—Jacob Levenson, author of The Secret Epidemic: The Story of Aids and Black America

"A book for our time. About forgiveness, acceptance, and resilience. A book that pays homage to the power of love in all its forms that taps our hearts, ever so softly yet forcefully. Carol E. Anderson, a fellow traveler on the road to self-awareness and self-acceptance, brings the honesty of finding her sexual truth to us all through her latest book, You Can’t Buy Love Like That: Growing Up Gay in the Sixties. With her gentle ‘telling’ of her story, showing compassion to herself and all others touched along her journey so far, Anderson gives us all the power to find our own honesty about our lives and the lives of others. A must read."
—Nonfiction Authors Association Book Awards Program