On November ninth, we woke up—Sandra and Sarah, but also most of the older queerfolk in the country—not to a world we didn’t know, but to one we remembered well and had hoped was gone for good.

A Dash of Humor Eases the Way

“Where there is humor there is life. Humor is an excellent means to maintain a sense of yourself. And break down barriers.”

It Ain’t No Lie, Baby

“My first boyfriend killed himself. We didn’t call ourselves boyfriends, but we went to the movies together, went to dinner together, and had a lot of sex.”

How I Wrote My Way Out of the Closet

“‘I hope you’re not trying to tell me something,’ my mother said, handing back my latest short story.”

The First Steps

“I was primed for those first steps by televised images of snarling dogs lunging at young people in Birmingham Alabama who just wanted a seat at the lunch counter, a good education and jobs or the right to vote.”