This Queer Book Saved My Life

Latest Episodes:

The Velvet Rage with Chris Tompkins Oct 03, 2023

Show notes

Coming out wasn’t a switch that fixed everything. This book explained why.
Today we meet Chris Tompkins and we’re talking about the book that saved Chris' life: The Velvet Rage by Alan Downs.
Chris is an LGTBQ affirmative therapist and author of the new book Raising LGBTQ Allies: A Parent's Guide to Changing the Messages from the Playground.
In The Velvet Rage, psychologist Alan Downs draws on his own struggle with shame and anger, contemporary research, and stories from his patients to passionately describe the stages of a gay man's journey out of shame and offers practical and inspired strategies to stop the cycle of avoidance and self-defeating behavior.
Connect with Chris
Instagram: @aroadtriptolove
Twitter: @aroadtriptolove
Facebook: facebook.com/aroadtriptolove
Website: aroadtriptolove.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/christompkinslife
Buy The Velvet Rage and Raising LGBTQ Allies
Visit our Bookshop for new releases, current bestsellers, banned books, critically acclaimed LGBTQ books, or peruse the books featured on our podcasts: bookshop.org/shop/thisqueerbook
Buy The Velvet Rage directly: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9781538136263
Buy Raising LGBTQ Allies directly: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9781538136263
Become an Associate Producer!
Become an Associate Producer of our podcast through a $20/month sponsorship on Patreon! A professionally recognized credit, you can gain access to Associate Producer meetings to help guide our podcast into the future! Get started today: patreon.com/thisqueerbook
Credits
Host/Founder: J.P. Der Boghossian
Executive Producer: Jim Pounds
Associate Producers: Archie Arnold, Natalie Cruz, Jonathan Fried, Paul Kaefer, Nicole Olila, Joe Perazzo, Bill Shay, and Sean Smith
Patreon Subscribers: Stephen D., Stephen Flamm, Thomas Michna, and Gary Nygaard.
Permission to use the TEDx talk "What Children Learn From The Things They Aren't Told" provided by Chris Tompkins.
Additional permissions provided by Chris Tompkins.
Music and SFX credits: visit thiqueerbook.com/music
Quatrefoil Library
Quatrefoil has created a curated lending library made up of the books featured on our podcast! If you can't buy these books, then borrow them! Link: https://libbyapp.com/library/quatrefoil/curated-1404336/page-1

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Valencia with Leslie Vincent and Michelle Tea Sep 19, 2023

Show notes

I had no queer friends. I kept going to the same bookstore hoping a girl would hit on me.
Welcome to our new season! Today we meet Leslie Vincent and Michelle Tea!
We’re talking about the book that saved Leslie's life: Valencia by Michelle Tea.
As a music maker, Leslie Vincent performs jazz and the great American Songbook. She released her new album About Last Night earlier this year.
Michelle Tea is a writer, Guggenheim Fellow, founder of Drag Queen Story Hour, and host of the podcast Your Magic with Michelle Tea.
Valencia is the fast-paced account of one girl's search for love and high times in the drama-filled dyke world of San Francisco's Mission District.
Connect with Leslie and Michelle
instagram: @leslie_della_vincent
website: lesliedellavincent.com
facebook: facebook.com/LeslieVincentMusic
website: www.michelle-tea.com
instagram: @michelleteaz
twitter: @TeaMichelle
Buy Valencia
Visit our Bookshop for new releases, current bestsellers, banned books, critically acclaimed LGBTQ books, or peruse the books featured on our podcasts.
Or, buy Valencia directly: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9781580052382
Become an Associate Producer!
Become an Associate Producer of our podcast through a $20/month sponsorship on Patreon! A professionally recognized credit, you can gain access to Associate Producer meetings to help guide our podcast into the future! Get started today: patreon.com/thisqueerbook
Credits
Host/Founder: J.P. Der Boghossian
Executive Producer: Jim Pounds
Associate Producers: Archie Arnold, Natalie Cruz, Jonathan Fried, Paul Kaefer, Nicole Olila, Joe Perazzo, Bill Shay, and Sean Smith
Patreon Subscribers: Stephen D., Stephen Flamm, Thomas Michna, and Gary Nygaard.
Permission to use "Laura" and "Stars Fell Over Alabama" provided be Leslie Vincent.
Permission to use the film trailer to Valencia provided by Michelle Tea.
Permission to use Your Magic with Michelle Tea provided by Michelle Tea.
Music credits: visit thiqueerbook.com/music
Quatrefoil Library
Quatrefoil has created a curated lending library made up of the books featured on our podcast! If you can't buy these books, then borrow them! Link: https://libbyapp.com/library/quatrefoil/curated-1404336/page-1

Support the show

7 Minutes in Book Heaven with Rebecca Turkewitz and Here in the Night Sep 12, 2023

Show notes

Welcome to our Summer of Book Love series!
Our series concludes today as we meet Rebecca Turkewitz and her new new spooky story collection: Here in the Night. New episodes of This Queer Book Saved My Life! drop next Tuesday! September 19th!
What's it about? The thirteen stories in Rebecca Turkewitz’s debut collection, Here in the Night, are engrossing, strange, eerie, and emotionally nuanced. Preoccupied with all manner of hauntings, these stories traverse a boarding school in the Vermont woods, the jagged coast of Maine, an attic in suburban Massachusetts, an elevator stuck between floors, and the side of an unlit highway in rural South Carolina.
At the center of almost every story is the landscape of night, with all its tantalizing and terrifying potential. After dark, the familiar becomes unfamiliar, boundaries loosen, expectations fall away, and even the greatest skeptics believe—at least fleetingly—that anything could happen.
Buy Here in the Night
Visit our Bookshop or buy directly right now: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9781625570574
And read Danez Smith's The 17 Year Old and the Gay Bar here at The Poetry Foundation's website.
Connect with Rebecca Turkewitz
Website: rebeccaturkewitz.com
Instagram: @Rebecca_Turkewitz_Writes
Twitter: @R_Turkewitz
Become an Associate Producer!
Become an Associate Producer of our podcast through a $20/month sponsorship on Patreon! A professionally recognized credit, you can gain access to Associate Producer meetings to help guide our podcast into the future! Get started today: patreon.com/thisqueerbook
Quatrefoil Library
Quatrefoil has created a curated lending library made up of the books featured on our podcast! If you can't buy these books, then borrow them! Link: https://libbyapp.com/library/quatrefoil/curated-1404336/page-1
Credits
Host/Founder: J.P. Der Boghossian
Executive Producer: Jim Pounds
Associate Producers: Archie Arnold, Natalie Cruz, Paul Kaefer, Nicole Olila, Joe Perazzo, Bill Shay, and Sean Smith
Patreon Subscribers: Stephen D., Steven Flamm, Thomas Michna, and Gary Nygaard.

Support the show

7 Minutes in Book Heaven with Rob Kirby and Marry Me A Little Sep 05, 2023

Show notes

Welcome to our Summer of Book Love series!
Every Tuesday this summer we will feature new episodes of 7 Minutes in Book Heaven which has your next summer read! New episodes of This Queer Book Saved My Life! drop September 19th.
Today we meet Robert Kirby and his new graphic memoir: Marry Me A Little.
What's it about? Rob recounts his experience of marrying his longtime partner, John, just after same-sex marriage was legalized in Minnesota in 2013. Heartwarming, honest, and slyly humorous, Marry Me a Little is a wonderfully illustrated celebration of a romantic partnership between two men and a personal account of a momentous and historic moment in the fight for gay rights.
Buy Marry Me A Little
Visit our Bookshop or buy directly right now: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9781637790397
Connect with Rob Kirby
Website: robkirbycomics.com
Instagram: @robkirbycomics
Twitter: @robkirbycomics
Become an Associate Producer!
Become an Associate Producer of our podcast through a $20/month sponsorship on Patreon! A professionally recognized credit, you can gain access to Associate Producer meetings to help guide our podcast into the future! Get started today: patreon.com/thisqueerbook
Quatrefoil Library
Quatrefoil has created a curated lending library made up of the books featured on our podcast! If you can't buy these books, then borrow them! Link: https://libbyapp.com/library/quatrefoil/curated-1404336/page-1
Credits
Host/Founder: J.P. Der Boghossian
Executive Producer: Jim Pounds
Associate Producers: Archie Arnold, Natalie Cruz, Paul Kaefer, Nicole Olila, Joe Perazzo, Bill Shay, and Sean Smith
Patreon Subscribers: Stephen D., Thomas Michna, and Gary Nygaard.

Support the show

7 Minutes in Book Heaven with Marisa Crane and I Keep My Exoskeletons To Myself Aug 29, 2023

Show notes

Welcome to our Summer of Book Love series!
Every Tuesday this summer we will feature new episodes of 7 Minutes in Book Heaven which has your next summer read! New episodes of This Queer Book Saved My Life! drop this September.
Today we meet Marisa Crane and their new novel: I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself.
What's it about? Dept. of Speculation meets Black Mirror in this lyrical, speculative debut about a queer mother raising her daughter in an unjust surveillance state. Kris is a new mother, grieving the loss of her wife and thoroughly unprepared for the reality of raising a child alone. Kris teeters on the edge of collapse, fumbling in a daze of alcohol, shame, and self-loathing. Yet as the kid grows, Kris finds her footing, raising a child whose irrepressible spark cannot be dampened by the harsh realities of the world. She can’t forget her wife, but with time, she can make a new life for herself and the kid, supported by a community of fellow misfits who defy the Department to lift one another up in solidarity and hope.
Buy I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself
Visit our Bookshop or buy directly right now: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9781646221295
We also talk about the writing craft book Meander, Spiral, and Explode by Jane Alison. Buy it here: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9781948226134
Connect with Marisa Crane
Website: marisacrane.org
Instagram: @marisa_crane
Twitter: @mcrane_12
Become an Associate Producer!
Become an Associate Producer of our podcast through a $20/month sponsorship on Patreon! A professionally recognized credit, you can gain access to Associate Producer meetings to help guide our podcast into the future! Get started today: patreon.com/thisqueerbook
Quatrefoil Library
Quatrefoil has created a curated lending library made up of the books featured on our podcast! If you can't buy these books, then borrow them! Link: https://libbyapp.com/library/quatrefoil/curated-1404336/page-1
Credits
Host/Founder: J.P. Der Boghossian
Executive Producer: Jim Pounds
Associate Producers: Archie Arnold, Natalie Cruz, Paul Kaefer, Nicole Olila, Joe Perazzo, Bill Shay, and Sean Smith
Patreon Subscribers: Stephen D., Thomas Michna, and Gary Nygaard.

Support the show

7 Minutes in Book Heaven with Tristan Taormino and A Part of the Heart Can't Be Eaten Aug 22, 2023

Show notes

Welcome to our Summer of Book Love series!
Every Tuesday this summer we will feature new episodes of 7 Minutes in Book Heaven which has your next summer read! New episodes of This Queer Book Saved My Life! drop this September.
Today we meet Tristan Taormino and their new memoir: A Part of the Heart Can't Be Eaten.
What's it about? Sex educator, filmmaker, and podcast host Tristan Taormino shares her coming-of-age story, revealing how her radical sexuality and unconventional career grew out of an extraordinary queer father-daughter relationship. Tristan’s world began to fall apart when her dad was diagnosed with AIDS. After a series of devastating events, she moved to the messy, glorious world of 1990s New York City. In the midst of grief and depression, she helped change queer sexual subculture with her zine Pucker Up, her infamous The Village Voice column, and her editorship of legendary lesbian porn magazine On Our Backs. After the publication of her first book, The Ultimate Guide to Anal Sex for Women, Tristan followed her own path that marked the beginning of her work as a trailblazing feminist pornographer.
Releasing in September 2023, you can pre-order through Duke University Press!
Connect with Tristan Taormino
Website: tristantaormino.com
Instagram: @tristantaormino
Twitter: @tristantaormino
Facebook: facebook.com/tristantaormino
Become an Associate Producer!
Become an Associate Producer of our podcast through a $20/month sponsorship on Patreon! A professionally recognized credit, you can gain access to Associate Producer meetings to help guide our podcast into the future! Get started today: patreon.com/thisqueerbook
Quatrefoil Library
Quatrefoil has created a curated lending library made up of the books featured on our podcast! If you can't buy these books, then borrow them! Link: https://libbyapp.com/library/quatrefoil/curated-1404336/page-1
Credits
Host/Founder: J.P. Der Boghossian
Executive Producer: Jim Pounds
Associate Producers: Archie Arnold, Natalie Cruz, Paul Kaefer, Nicole Olila, Joe Perazzo, Bill Shay, and Sean Smith
Patreon Subscribers: Stephen D., Thomas Michna, and Gary Nygaard.

Support the show

7 Minutes in Book Heaven with Lin Thompson and The House That Whispers Aug 15, 2023

Show notes

Welcome to our Summer of Book Love series!
Every Tuesday this summer we will feature new episodes of 7 Minutes in Book Heaven which has your next summer read! New episodes of This Queer Book Saved My Life! drop this September.
Today we meet Lin Thompson and their new novel: The House That Whispers.
What's it about? Eleven-year-old Simon and his siblings, Talia and Rose, are staying the week at Nanaleen's century-old house. This time, though, it’s not their usual summer vacation trip. In fact, everything’s different. It’s fall, not summer. Mom and Dad are staying behind to have a “talk.” And Nanaleen’s house smells weird, plus she keeps forgetting things. And these aren’t the only things getting under Simon’s skin: He’s the only one who knows that his name is Simon, and that he and him pronouns are starting to feel right. But he’s not ready to add to the changes that are already in motion in his family.
Buy The House That Whispers
Visit our Bookshop or buy directly right now: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9780316277112
We also talk about When the Angels Left The Old Country by Sacha Lamb. Buy it here: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9781646141760
Connect with Lin Thompson
Website: linthompson.com
Instagram: @linthompsonbooks
Twitter: @lin__thompson
Become an Associate Producer!
Become an Associate Producer of our podcast through a $20/month sponsorship on Patreon! A professionally recognized credit, you can gain access to Associate Producer meetings to help guide our podcast into the future! Get started today: patreon.com/thisqueerbook
Quatrefoil Library
Quatrefoil has created a curated lending library made up of the books featured on our podcast! If you can't buy these books, then borrow them! Link: https://libbyapp.com/library/quatrefoil/curated-1404336/page-1
Credits
Host/Founder: J.P. Der Boghossian
Executive Producer: Jim Pounds
Associate Producers: Archie Arnold, Natalie Cruz, Paul Kaefer, Nicole Olila, Joe Perazzo, Bill Shay, and Sean Smith
Patreon Subscribers: Stephen D., Thomas Michna, and Gary Nygaard.

Support the show

7 Minutes in Book Heaven with Lucian Childs and Dreaming Home Aug 08, 2023

Show notes

Welcome to our Summer of Book Love series!
Every Tuesday this summer we will feature new episodes of 7 Minutes in Book Heaven which has your next summer read! New episodes of This Queer Book Saved My Life! drop this September.
Today we meet Lucian Childs and his new novel: Dreaming Home.
What's it about? When a sister's casual act of betrayal awakens their father's demons--ones spawned by his time in Vietnamese POW camps--the effects of the ensuing violence against her brother ripple out over the course of forty years, from Lubbock, to San Francisco, to Fort Lauderdale. Swept up in this arc, the members of this family and their loved ones tell their tales. A queer coming-of-age, and coming-to-terms, and a poignant exploration of all the ways we search for home, Dreaming Home is the unforgettable story of the fragmenting of an American family.
Buy Dreaming Home
Visit our Bookshop or buy directly right now: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9781771965491
Connect with Lucian Childs
Website: lucianchilds.com
Instagram: @lucian_childs
Facebook: Lucian-Childs-Author
Twitter: @lucianchilds
Become an Associate Producer!
Become an Associate Producer of our podcast through a $20/month sponsorship on Patreon! A professionally recognized credit, you can gain access to Associate Producer meetings to help guide our podcast into the future! Get started today: patreon.com/thisqueerbook
Quatrefoil Library
Quatrefoil has created a curated lending library made up of the books featured on our podcast! If you can't buy these books, then borrow them! Link: https://libbyapp.com/library/quatrefoil/curated-1404336/page-1
Credits
Host/Founder: J.P. Der Boghossian
Executive Producer: Jim Pounds
Associate Producers: Archie Arnold, Natalie Cruz, Paul Kaefer, Nicole Olila, Joe Perazzo, Bill Shay, and Sean Smith
Patreon Subscribers: Stephen D., Thomas Michna, and Gary Nygaard.

Support the show

7 Minutes in Book Heaven with Dr. Gwen Bass and Immaculate Misconception Aug 01, 2023

Show notes

Welcome to our Summer of Book Love series! New episodes of This Queer Book Saved My Life! drop this September.
Every Tuesday this summer we will feature new episodes of 7 Minutes in Book Heaven which has your next summer read!
Today we meet Dr. Gwen Bass and her new memoir: Immaculate Misconception: A Story of Biology and Belonging.
What's it about? In the early 1980’s, 95% of all artificial inseminations were performed for married, heterosexual couples. Among the other 5% were people like Gwen’s parents– lesbians navigating a homophobic medical system ready to deny them children. They found a doctor willing to perform the procedure in secret, using sperm from an anonymous donor.
She grew up straddling two worlds. In one–rainbow flags waved and love made a family. In the other– she and her family tried to fit in with everyone else. Immaculate Misconception isn’t just a window into a sliver of queer history, it raises questions we all grapple with: who we are and the forces that influence us. It’s a reflection on nature, nurture, identity, and belonging.
After earning her BA in Psychology and Education, Gwen became a teacher and school counselor. She then pursued an M.Ed in school counseling and her doctorate in special education while training and mentoring teachers on practical, evidence-based tools to nurture kids’ educational and emotional well-being.
Buy Immaculate Misconception
Visit our Bookshop or buy directly right now: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9798889269526
Connect with Dr. Gwen Bass
Website: drgwenbass.com
Instagram: @drgwenbass
Facebook: facebook.com/drgwenbass
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dr-gwen-bass
Become an Associate Producer!
Become an Associate Producer of our podcast through a $20/month sponsorship on Patreon! A professionally recognized credit, you can gain access to Associate Producer meetings to help guide our podcast into the future! Get started today: patreon.com/thisqueerbook
Quatrefoil Library
Quatrefoil has created a curated lending library made up of the books featured on our podcast! If you can't buy these books, then borrow them! Link: https://libbyapp.com/library/quatrefoil/curated-1404336/page-1
Credits
Host/Founder: J.P. Der Boghossian
Executive Producer: Jim Pounds
Associate Producers: Archie Arnold, Natalie Cruz, Paul Kaefer, Nicole Olila, Joe Perazzo, Bill Shay, and Sean Smith
Patreon Subscribers: Stephen D., Thomas Michna, and Gary Nygaard

Support the show

7 Minutes in Book Heaven with Christine Suggs and ¡Ay, Mija! Jul 25, 2023

Show notes

Welcome to our Summer of Book Love series!
Every Tuesday this summer we will feature new episodes of 7 Minutes in Book Heaven which has your next summer read!
Today we meet Christine Suggs and their graphic novel ¡Ay, Mija! My Bilingual Summer in Mexico.
In this bilingual, inventive, and heartfelt debut, graphic novel sixteen-year-old Christine explores a trip they took to Mexico to visit family, embracing and rebelling against their heritage and finding a sense of belonging.
At first, Christine struggles to connect with family they don't yet share a language with. Soon Christine settles into life in Mexico, eating pan dulce, drawing what they see, and growing more comfortable with Spanish. But when Mom joins their trip, Christine's two worlds collide. Through exploring the impacts of colonialism in both Mexico and themselves, they find their place in their family and start to feel comfortable with their mixed identity.
Christine (they/them) is a comic artist and designer living in Dallas, TX with their wonderful partner, 1 dog, and 2 cats. Christine's work explores the intersection of their identities, namely being a queer, fat, Latinx leftist who loves all things cute. Bonus facts: their day job is in app design, they are an avid Dungeons & Dragons player, and they're quite obsessed with their cats.
Buy ¡Ay, Mija! My Bilingual Summer in Mexico
Visit our Bookshop or buy directly right now: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9780316591928
Connect with Christine Suggs
Website: christinesuggs.com
Instagram: @csuggsillustration
Become an Associate Producer!
Become an Associate Producer of our podcast through a $20/month sponsorship on Patreon! A professionally recognized credit, you can gain access to Associate Producer meetings to help guide our podcast into the future! Get started today: patreon.com/thisqueerbook
Quatrefoil Library
Quatrefoil has created a curated lending library made up of the books featured on our podcast! If you can't buy these books, then borrow them! Link: https://libbyapp.com/library/quatrefoil/curated-1404336/page-1
Credits
Host/Founder: J.P. Der Boghossian
Executive Producer: Jim Pounds
Associate Producers: Archie Arnold, Natalie Cruz, Paul Kaefer, Nicole Olila, Joe Perazzo, Bill Shay, and Sean Smith
Patreon Subscribers: Stephen D., Thomas Michna, and Gary Nygaard

Support the show

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