Book picks similar to
Permanent Partners: Building Gay & Lesbian Relationships That Last by Betty Berzon
relationships
psychology
non-fiction
gay
US: The Art of Relationships
Lisa Oz - 2010
Co-author of the YOU: The Owner's Manual series Lisa Oz explores how healthy relationships are the key to growth of the mind, body, and spirit.
Boyfriends with Girlfriends
Alex Sanchez - 2011
Sergio is bisexual, but his only real relationship was with a girl. When the two of them meet, they have an instant connection--but will it be enough to overcome their differences? Allie's been in a relationship with a guy for the last two years--but when she meets Kimiko, she can't get her out of her mind. Does this mean she's gay? Does it mean she's bi? Kimiko, falling hard for Allie, and finding it impossible to believe that a gorgeous girl like Allie would be into her, is willing to stick around and help Allie figure it out. Boyfriends with Girlfriends is Alex Sanchez at his best, writing with a sensitive hand to portray four very real teens striving to find their places in the world--and with each other.
Just Juliet
Charlotte Reagan - 2016
Juliet represents the road less traveled. Will Lena take it? Lena Newman is 17, her best friend’s a cheerleader, her boyfriend’s a football player, and as far as everyone is concerned, her life is sorted. But that’s before she befriends the new girl. Juliet is confident, slightly damaged, drop-dead gorgeous and a lesbian. Lena realizes that her interest goes beyond just friendship. She sets off on a path of self-discovery where the loyalty of those closest to her will be tested. "It feels real without being tedious, and heart-warming without being sappy. It's not all roses, and it's not all doom and gloom. It's great.” - Jon "Just Juliet is the story I wish I could have given to my parents to read when I was 16 so that they knew what I was going through." - Caro M.
Raising My Rainbow: Adventures in Raising a Fabulous, Gender Creative Son
Lori Duron - 2013
Whereas her older son, Chase, is a Lego-loving, sports-playing boy's boy, her younger son, C.J., would much rather twirl around in a pink sparkly tutu, with a Disney Princess in each hand while singing Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi." C.J. is gender variant or gender nonconforming, whichever you prefer. Whatever the term, Lori has a boy who likes girl stuff—really likes girl stuff. He floats on the gender-variation spectrum from super-macho-masculine on the left all the way to super-girly-feminine on the right. He's not all pink and not all blue. He's a muddled mess or a rainbow creation. Lori and her family choose to see the rainbow. Written in Lori's uniquely witty and warm voice and launched by her incredibly popular blog of the same name, Raising My Rainbow is the unforgettable story of her wonderful family as they navigate the often challenging but never dull privilege of raising a slightly effeminate, possibly gay, totally fabulous son.Now with Extra Libris material, including a reader’s guide and bonus content
GLBTQ*: The Survival Guide for Queer & Questioning Teens
Kelly Huegel - 2003
As a teen, she struggled to realize and accept her own identity. Her frank, sensitive book is written for teens who are beginning to question their sexual or gender identity, those who interested in GLBT issues and rights, and those who need guidance, reassurance, or reminders that they aren’t alone.Kelly offers practical advice, knowing encouragement, accessible resources, and real-life testimonials from teens who’ve "been there." Topics include coming out (the pluses and minuses), facing prejudice and pressure, getting support, navigating relationships, staying safe, making healthy choices, surviving and thriving in high school, and more.The message throughout is strong and clear: By accepting yourself, you take charge of your own future.Created with feedback and suggestions from individuals at PFLAG (Parents, families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), GLSEN (the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network), GLAAD (the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation), and other organizations, this book is for any GLBTQ teen—and any straight friend, parent, teacher, counselor, youth leader, or other adult who cares and wants to understand.
The Enneagram for Relationships: Transform Your Connections with Friends, Family, Colleagues, and in Love
Ashton Whitmoyer-Ober - 2020
The Enneagram for Relationships takes the straightforward wisdom of the Enneagram and helps you understand it so that you can improve the quality of your human connections.Breaking people down into nine distinct types, the Enneagram is more than a personality test―it is a tool for understanding who you are and, more importantly, why you are who you are. Diving deep into each of the types, this easy-to-understand book provides complete breakdowns of what each one brings to various relationships, how they interact with other people, and what they can do to form healthy and fulfilling partnerships.The Enneagram for Relationships includes:Learn about your type―From the Reformer (Type 1) to the Peacemaker (Type 9), get a detailed explanation of each personality, what they are like, and how they function within relationships.From personal to professional―Go beyond romance as you learn how you can use the Enneagram to improve friendships, familial bonds, and work partnerships.Be your best self―Discover plenty of practical advice for addressing your own faults and foibles and living up to your potential―even as you learn how to navigate the other personality types at home and in the wild.You can get along better with other people―let the Enneagram show you how.
Annie on My Mind
Nancy Garden - 1982
The book has been banned from many school libraries and publicly burned in Kansas City. Of the author and the book, the Margaret A. Edwards Award committee said, “Using a fluid, readable style, Garden opens a window through which readers can find courage to be true to themselves.”
The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister
Anne Lister - 1992
She kept extensive diaries of her life and loves, written partly in code. Made up of Greek letters mingled with other symbols of her own devising, Anne referred to the code as her "crypthand," and the use of it allowed her the freedom to describe her intimate life in great detail. Her diaries have been edited by Helena Whitbread, who spent years decoding and transcribing them.
Conduct Unbecoming: Gays and Lesbians in the Us Military
Randy Shilts - 1993
The bestselling author of And the Band Played On follows with a book of even greater power and sweep as he investigates the situation of gays in the military over the past three decades, revealing for the first time that some of the most celebrated soldiers in American history were homosexual (including the Father of the United States Army).
Dare Truth or Promise
Paula Boock - 1997
Louie wants to be a lawyer and is an outstanding student. Willa lives in a pub and just wants to get through the year so she can graduate and become a chef. But they are completely attracted to one another when they first meet at a fast-food restaurant. Soon they fall in love fast and furiously, and everything the girls are sure of - their plans, their faith, their families, their identities - is called into question...
The Body Is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love
Sonya Renee Taylor - 2018
Systems of oppression thrive off our inability to make peace with difference and injure the relationship we have with our own bodies.The Body Is Not an Apology offers radical self-love as the balm to heal the wounds inflicted by these violent systems. World-renowned activist and poet Sonya Renee Taylor invites us to reconnect with the radical origins of our minds and bodies and celebrate our collective, enduring strength. As we awaken to our own indoctrinated body shame, we feel inspired to awaken others and to interrupt the systems that perpetuate body shame and oppression against all bodies. When we act from this truth on a global scale, we usher in the transformative opportunity of radical self-love, which is the opportunity for a more just, equitable, and compassionate world--for us all.
Confessions of the Other Mother: Nonbiological Lesbian Moms Tell All!
Harlyn Aizley - 2006
Together, they searched for stories about families like their own, in which a woman has chosen to forgo her own birth experience so that she might support her partner in hers. They found very few. Now, in Confessions of the Other Mother, Aizley has put together an exciting collection of personal stories by women like her partner who are creating new parenting roles, redefining motherhood, and reshaping our view of two-parent families. Contributors include Hillary Goodridge, who was one of the lead plaintiffs in the case for same-sex marriage in Massachusetts, stand-up comedian Judy Gold, and psychologist and author Suzanne M. Johnson.This candid peek into a previously unexamined side of lesbian parenting is full of stories that are sometimes humorous, sometimes moving, but at all times celebratory. Each parenting tale sheds light on the many facets of motherhood, offering gay and straight readers alike a deeper understanding of what it means to love and parent in the twenty-first century.
The Disappearing L: Erasure of Lesbian Spaces and Culture
Bonnie J. Morris - 2016
The Disappearing L explores the rise and fall of the hugely popular women-only concerts, festivals, bookstores, and support spaces built by and for lesbians in the era of woman-identified activism. Through the stories unfolding in these chapters, anyone unfamiliar with the Michigan festival, Olivia Records, or the women’s bookstores once dotting the urban landscape will gain a better understanding of the era in which artists and activists first dared to celebrate lesbian lives. This book offers the backstory to the culture we are losing to mainstreaming and assimilation. Through interviews with older activists, it also responds to recent attacks on lesbian feminists who are being made to feel that they’ve hit their cultural expiration date.“The Disappearing L is both an ‘insider’ story and a well-written analysis of a neglected piece of cultural history. Morris delivers convincing arguments about why the lesbian-feminist era was important not only to the individuals who lived it but also to a broader understanding of what has come to be called ‘LGBT’ history. No one could be better positioned to write this book than Morris.” — Lillian Faderman, author of The Gay Revolution: The Story of the StruggleBonnie J. Morris is Adjunct Professor of Women’s Studies at both George Washington University and Georgetown University. She is the author of several books, including Eden Built by Eves: The Culture of Women’s Music Festivals and Lubavitcher Women in America: Identity and Activism in the Postwar Era, also published by SUNY Press.
Love, Ellen: A Mother/Daughter Journey
Betty DeGeneres - 1999
Twenty years ago, during a walk on a Mississippi beach, Ellen DeGeneres spoke those simple, powerful words to her mother. That emotional moment eventually brought mother and daughter closer than ever, but it was not without a struggle. In Love, Ellen, Betty DeGeneres tells her story: the complicated path to acceptance and the deepening of her friendship with her daughter, the media's scrutiny of their family life, and the painful and often inspiring stories she's heard on the road as the first nongay spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign's National Coming Out Project.Insightful, universally touching, and uncommonly wise, Love, Ellen is a story of friendship between mother and daughter and a lesson in understanding for all parents and their children.
Shame Is an Ocean I Swim Across
Mary Lambert - 2018
In verse that deals with sexual assault, mental illness, and body acceptance, Ms. Lambert's Shame Is an Ocean I Swim Across emerges as an important new voice in poetry, providing strength and resilience even in the darkest of times.