First published 2019
Twenty writers with ties to North Carolina gather their voices in this collection that examines LGBTQ life through personal stories and essays. The contributors include David Sedaris, Kelly Link, Allan Gurganus, Randall Kenan, and others who identify across the sexual and gender spectrum. Their pieces tackle the complexities of queer existence: young romance colliding with gay panic, navigating religious communities, serving in the military, building families through surrogacy, facing rejection from loved ones, discovering authentic gender identity, and pursuing both physical intimacy and lasting love. The writers reveal how LGBTQ individuals carve out space for themselves in North Carolina and similar places. This anthology stands nearly alone in its focus on regional queer voices, offering perspectives that balance struggle with celebration, isolation with community, and fear with hope.
Genres: memoir, non-fiction, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, identity-exploration
Setting: North Carolina
Period: 21st-Century
329 pages · Kindle Edition · The University of North Carolina Press
Content warnings: homophobia