Krista Doyle grew up in a small town in Louisiana where everyone was a gossip and a devout church goer. She attended church every Sunday where she listened to her grandfather preach from the stage, where she sang hymns from the audience as her mother led the choir, and where she was strictly taught that everything was black and white, right and wrong. So-how was Krista to cope with being a lesbian? "Does this Bible Belt Make Me Look Gay?" is Krista's retelling of her journey from her straight-and-narrow childhood in small-town Louisiana to her rough-and-tumble adulthood, spent mostly in the glittery land of Los Angeles where she found God at the Cheesecake Factory and shed countless tears at lesbian bars because a stranger attacked her with an unwanted kiss (it was only her second time kissing a woman!). It's a brief, honest, and clever memoir penned in the hopes that the author's story might provide comfort and insight to those suffering through similar situations-to those wondering if God had just made them "incorrectly," as Krista once questioned herself.

2013 Finalist for the Lambda Literary Awards, LGBT Studies category Barton argues that conventional Southern manners and religious institutions provide a foundation for homophobia in the Bible Belt In the Bible Belt, it’s common to see bumper stickers that claim One Man + One Woman = Marriage, church billboards that command one to “Get right with Jesus,” letters to the editor comparing gay marriage to marrying one’s dog, and nightly news about homophobic attacks from the Family Foundation. While some areas of the Unites States have made tremendous progress in securing rights for gay people, Bible Belt states lag behind. Not only do most Bible Belt gays lack domestic partner benefits, lesbians and gay men can still be fired from some places of employment in many regions of the Bible Belt for being a homosexual. In Pray the Gay Away, Bernadette Barton argues that conventions of small town life, rules which govern Southern manners, and the power wielded by Christian institutions serve as a foundation for both passive and active homophobia in the Bible Belt. She explores how conservative Christian ideology reproduces homophobic attitudes and shares how Bible Belt gays negotiate these attitudes in their daily lives. Drawing on the remarkable stories of Bible Belt gays, Barton brings to the fore their thoughts, experiences and hard-won insights to explore the front lines of our national culture war over marriage, family, hate crimes, and equal rights. Pray the Gay Away illuminates their lives as both foot soldiers and casualties in the battle for gay rights.

From Chastity Bono, daughter of Sonny and Cher, heroine of the gay community, comes the first comprehensive guide to the coming-out process, written from the perspective of both gays and lesbians and their parents.

The Advocate is a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) monthly newsmagazine. Established in 1967, it is the oldest continuing LGBT publication in the United States.

The Advocate is a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) monthly newsmagazine. Established in 1967, it is the oldest continuing LGBT publication in the United States.

“Fascinating, thoughtful, and important. [Jeff Chu] captures the fractures and conflict at a moment when the issue of what to do with L.G.B.T. people is tearing Christian denominations apart. Does Jesus Really Love Me? deserves to be widely read.” —Dan Savage, New York Times Book Review In this timely work—part memoir, part investigative analysis—a prize-winning writer explores the explosive and confusing intersection of faith, politics, and sexuality in Christian America. When Jeff Chu came out to his parents as a gay man, his devout Christian mother cried. And cried. Every time she looked at him. For months. As a journalist and a believer, Chu knew that he had to get to the heart of a question that had been haunting him for years: Does Jesus really love me? The quest to find an answer propels Chu on a remarkable cross-country journey to discover the God “forbidden to him” because of his sexuality. Surveying the breadth of the political and theological spectrum, from the most conservative viewpoints to the most liberal, he tries to distill what the diverse followers of Christ believe about homosexuality and to understand how these people who purportedly follow the same God and the same Scriptures have come to hold such a wide range of opinions. Why does Pastor A believe that God hates me, especially because of my gayness? Why does Person B believe that God loves me, gayness and all? From Brooklyn to Nashville to California, from Westboro Baptist Church and their god hates fags protest signs to the pioneering Episcopal bishop Mary Glasspool, who proclaims a message of liberation and divine love, Chu captures spiritual snapshots of Christian America at a remarkable moment, when tensions between both sides in the culture wars have rarely been higher. Both funny and heartbreaking, perplexing and wise, Does Jesus Really Love Me? is an intellectual, emotional, and spiritual pilgrimage that reveals a portrait of a faith and a nation at odds.

Eight womensome close friends, others loosely connectedhave just been chosen to participate in a long weekend retreat. Each struggles with her own problems and self-doubts and is at a pivotal point in her life. As the women leave their busy worlds behind and arrive at the Serendipity Ranch in Santa Barbara, they are greeted by five female hosts who are gifted in ways beyond the norm. While enjoying yoga classes, art lessons, meditation sessions, and various spa treatments at the ranch, the women attempt to overcome unique challenges, battle criticizing inner voices, and shed emotional shacklesas five cosmic forces secretly work behind the scenes to help them resolve their issues. But their stay is not without conflict; one of the visitors goes to great lengths to defy the rules, and intruders threaten their safety. Meanwhile, their angel-like hosts must rely on their magical abilities to rectify each situation while quietly hoping their actions will have a ripple effect on the world. In this poignant tale, eight women share an unforgettable weekend journey that opens their hearts and minds and encourages each to discover her own truth.