https://www.patreon.com/posts/i-spoke-to-you-77519687?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&...

Well, hells. Or perhaps, heavens??

When I picked up this book, I approached it from the stance of queer elder and sometimes scholar, advocate and academic. I've worked in the world of queer identity and advocacy long before I claimed the identity for myself. As a collection published by an academic press and on a population so different from my own lived experience, I expected my curiosity and desire to understand all that exists at the intersections to lead me into these narratives of queer Mormom experiences.

I must admit to how unprepared I was for what I found, both in the text and in myself.

This book came to me at the same time I found myself stepping away from a life on the road and stepping into queer communal living. It came to me as I was starting replacement hormone therapy and all the weird self-shifts that come to it. Which is to say, it has arrived just as I'm in a place to really reflect on my own gender and queer journey.

One of the really stunning threads throughout this book is the way the editors and the authors hold the tensions that come when acknowledging one core part of your indentity is likely to result in the loss of community, family, geography, and core narrative. To be Mormon and queer is to be divided in yourself, and the high costs of navigating that resonate throughout the collection. In an age where queer authenticity and "outness" are celebrated and encouraged, where despite setbacks we are in one of the most open and safer times in modern history to be queer, this collection invites reflection on *not* speaking out, or speaking, and on the decades long journey for some of reconciling hope and salvation with your human peers deciding you are wrong.

It is a hard read at times, with stories that do not shy away from the worst of the costs, including suicide and loss of community. It is also incredibly hopeful, in the small acts of living and loving that these courageous authors tell.

Let them speak to you. We all have something we can learn. ( )

Understanding the lived experiences of people who are different from you is a crucial part of being a good human being; this book has lots of lived experiences that are different from the average Mormon's experience. The essays are poignant and well-written, providing lots of opportunities to connect through elements that the authors and reader may have in common.

The collection focuses on marginalized genders, which is absolutely essential in the queer Mormon space. Many resources that deal with sexuality focus almost entirely on gay cis men's experiences (such as "Gay Rights and The Mormon Church," which doesn't discuss queer women to any substantial degree.) This book starts to fill that gap.

Wow! I know the general stance of the LDS church concerning LGBTQIA issues but I guess I never really thought deeply about what it meant to individuals who didn't conform. My immediate response is "get out now and find a faith community that loves and respects you for who you really are." In my own faith community people who are unhappy are generally counseled to search for a community with a better fit for them. The amount of pain expressed in this book is heart breaking.