Acito, who wrote the book for the 2015 Broadway musical, “Allegiance,†told HuffPost that his debut novel, How I Paid For College, was inspired by his own decision to leave home after coming out as gay in high school. “Were it not for a friend’s mother who took me in, I easily could have ended up on the streets,†he explained. “I look at any displaced person—homeless, immigrant, refugee—and I don’t see ‘other.’ I see myself.â€