The third in the "Trials of My Queer Life" series, "It's Not Mean If It's True" (Alyson Books), arrived in stores in 2000. Following in the footsteps of the first two, the book was an instant bestseller, and Ford was once again nominated for a Lambda Literary Award for best humor book. Although he lost to comic superstar David Sedaris, the attention earned Mike the notice of Michael J. Rosen, director of the James Thurber House and editor of the prestigious "Mirth of a Nation" series of Best American Humor Writing. As a result, two of Mike's essays were included in the second Mirth collection (Simon & Schuster, 2002) and featured on a CD read by actor Tony Roberts.