In Charlie Bird's new book, Without the Mask, he begins with a letter to the reader and explains what inspired him to write.

I want to write a book that might help a dad better understand his son or give peace to a mother who has been crying herself to sleep at night.

I want to write a book for the youth leader who isn't sure how to create a safe space for LGBTQ youth while still teaching true gospel principles.

And for the bishop who doesn't know how to support families that are day by day breaking apart.

I hope reading my experiences will spark healing, bridge gaps of understanding, and inspire hope.

In short, Charlie concludes, I pray that for someone, this will be the book I never had.

Charlie Bird was Cosmo the Cougar at Brigham Young University from 2016 to 2018.

He received national acclaim for his multiple dance performances with the BYU Cougarettes.

As Cosmo, he performed on stages across the country, including the ESPN College Football Awards.

NBC Sports dubbed 2017 to 2018 the year of the mascot in honor of Cosmo's character and performance.

Charlie received his undergraduate degree from Brigham Young University and is currently back in Utah to pursue a master's of social work from BYU and an effort to become a licensed clinical therapist.

This is All-In, an LDS living podcast where we ask the question, what does it really mean to be All-In the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

I'm Morgan Jones and I am so excited to have Charlie Bird with me today, Charlie, welcome.

Thank you. I'm very excited to be here.

Well, I have looked forward to this conversation. I feel like I say that every week and I genuinely mean it.

But this one, especially, I feel like I have just... This is a topic that I've wanted to tackle on this podcast for a long time.

And I've just been waiting for the right opportunity. And Charlie, you have written this incredible book.

And I just am so excited for people to get their hands on it because I think that it is exactly what people need at this time, whether it be those who love people that are in your circumstance or those that are in your circumstance.

So the first question that I have for you is that the title of this book without the mask obviously ties in to how people best know who you are, which is that you were Cosmo, basically the Cosmo that went viral all over ESPN.

And so I wonder how did your experience as Cosmo change your life and ultimately how did it inspire this book?

And yeah, I wish there was a way I could describe how much I loved being Cosmo.

I mean, obviously I love to dance and do flips and perform and connect with people. But the experience of Cosmo was so much more than that.

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