Book Review
Dragonfly Stories
by J. Cascio, Catherine Brown, and Beatrice Gordon
Published by Rainbow Legends, Kearney, MO
I love this book!
And that’s appropriate. This is a book about love – loving relationships. It is a compilation of stories celebrating love in the LGBTQ community. There are stories of mothers and sons, fathers and daughters, and gay, lesbian, and transgender couples, as told in their own words.
Sections include self-love, as well – probably better called self-acceptance and realization. But the high-lights to me are in the transgender stories, since they relate directly to my family. One of them expresses the challenge very well: “Eventually, I realized that I needed to decide whither I was in love with the gender or with the person.” This is a challenge faced by many LGBTQ families, and each must work it out for themselves.
Several stories deal with overcoming typical obstacles beyond the closet door. Fear of physical threat or violence. Bigotry, especially in the name of religion. Loss of employment, family, and friends. All lead toward a new awareness of self and new opportunities. All show that life can be satisfying and full of love.
Such stories seem to have more impact when they involve people you know. I have been privileged to meet the author’s of the book’s final story. It is a coming out tale of two lovely people, their growing affection for each other and their resulting relationship.
There is truly no end to the wonderful stories of happy, successful, relationships amongst the LGBTQ community, whether as full participants or loving, supportive allies. I look forward to reading more of them.
limited availability on line through Amazon.com
