By Joseph Gorrell

The church would abandon him. And if his parents followed, they would abandon him too. He wept. He couldn’t envision a world without his family.

By Mary McGrath

Perhaps my sexual orientation didn’t matter after all. In the end, my mother viewed me as a person.

By Stephen Smith

But why would I mourn the loss of that boyfriend? I’ve decided that he was not the only one in our relationship who was needy.

By John Whittier Treat

The beautiful Japanese plate was gone and could not be restored. I put the plastic garbage bag underneath the workbench and it stayed there for years, long after Tom left me and our house as abruptly as I once had left Tadashi.

By Brian J Kennedy

Maybe it’s a stretch to say that Dolly Parton and country music helped me come to terms with my sexuality. But I do know that once I fell in love with her music, I never tried to hide it.

By John Sacowicz

For my whole life, I have wondered what it would have been like to be touched by Tom.

By Loren Olson

If I am known in this world at all, I want to be known as myself. I hope you approve, but it no longer matters to me if you do.

By Jonthan Alexander

We had ourselves, our own experiences, our journeys to this moment.  We couldn’t hide anymore. And we didn’t.  

By Edward Gunawan

Yes, the encounter happened, I would remind myself. The card is real. And so are we.

By Meredith May

Managing Edie’s stress tested the limits of our compassion and our strength as a couple, but the shared struggle has bonded us closer than had we been given an easy dog.