dlberglund's review against another edition
4.0
When I put this on hold at the library, I mistakenly thought it was a book of fictional stories, not a book of journalism stories. But I decided that perhaps I needed to read the non-fiction about Red State America more than the fiction that might have been.
Journalist Samantha Allen goes on a 4000 mile roadtrip to investigate the small towns in the Midwest and South that hold important oasis communities for queer folks. I think I might have been exactly the person to read this book-- a person with NE and NW biases, who back-handedly insults many states as places I could never possibly live because, you know, there's nobody gay there. I'm the person who needed to hear about the coffeehouses and gay bars and Family communities and state Capitol rallies by people for whom each legislative fight really matters. I appreciated getting a new perspective. Although I question some of Samantha's food choices (she mentions eating at Cracker Barrel and Chick Fil A--twice!!-- and I wonder how she justifies giving them her money when they fund some of the things her rural advocates are fighting against!), I thought there was just enough "buddy road trip" and personal back story in the book to balance out some of the more data-driven sections. I also definitely appreciated the photos of so many of the people and places she talks about in the different chapters.
Journalist Samantha Allen goes on a 4000 mile roadtrip to investigate the small towns in the Midwest and South that hold important oasis communities for queer folks. I think I might have been exactly the person to read this book-- a person with NE and NW biases, who back-handedly insults many states as places I could never possibly live because, you know, there's nobody gay there. I'm the person who needed to hear about the coffeehouses and gay bars and Family communities and state Capitol rallies by people for whom each legislative fight really matters. I appreciated getting a new perspective. Although I question some of Samantha's food choices (she mentions eating at Cracker Barrel and Chick Fil A--twice!!-- and I wonder how she justifies giving them her money when they fund some of the things her rural advocates are fighting against!), I thought there was just enough "buddy road trip" and personal back story in the book to balance out some of the more data-driven sections. I also definitely appreciated the photos of so many of the people and places she talks about in the different chapters.
hakkun1's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
remimicha's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
sweddy65's review against another edition
3.0
I wanted to like this book more.
Maybe the problem is that I live in red America and do the really hard work of trying to make it a safer place for LGBTQ+ people. Many days I feel like the work is impossible, despite some gains. This doesn't stop me from working toward those gains, but it also exhausts me.
Maybe because of that I think Allen mythologizes people like the people I know to too great an extent.
I also think that she dismisses the good work of people in cities too easily. She writes of her friend Michael that "he realized that many of his new coworkers at the HIV/AIDS advocacy organization were more interested in climbing ladders than they were in saving lives" (19). While that may very well have been Michael's experience, in 1980s San Francisco and in 1990s Boston, the people I worked alongside were radicals who wanted to save lives and make a better world, who weren't cliqueish, and who worked across all sorts of dividing lines.
While I may find myself living in this red community for the rest of my life, I will never stop yearning for a city. Not only did I feel like I was home in cities in a way I never will in this community, I also had access to other things that are important to me.
I miss independent cinema and film festivals. I miss vegetarian restaurants (and the ones I frequented were not the expensive ones). I miss theater. I miss so many things that cities offer. For someone like me, these other things that are tied to my lesbianism but also apart from it, help to make the world a better place.
There are definite strengths to this book. I loved the introduction and may use it when I teach LGBTQ Studies this fall. I loved Allen's discussion of *queer*. But, in the end, the red America she painted rang false to me. In the end, it seemed too much like the other books I have read recently where experiences are inflated to become a universal rather than the individual stories they really are.
Maybe the problem is that I live in red America and do the really hard work of trying to make it a safer place for LGBTQ+ people. Many days I feel like the work is impossible, despite some gains. This doesn't stop me from working toward those gains, but it also exhausts me.
Maybe because of that I think Allen mythologizes people like the people I know to too great an extent.
I also think that she dismisses the good work of people in cities too easily. She writes of her friend Michael that "he realized that many of his new coworkers at the HIV/AIDS advocacy organization were more interested in climbing ladders than they were in saving lives" (19). While that may very well have been Michael's experience, in 1980s San Francisco and in 1990s Boston, the people I worked alongside were radicals who wanted to save lives and make a better world, who weren't cliqueish, and who worked across all sorts of dividing lines.
While I may find myself living in this red community for the rest of my life, I will never stop yearning for a city. Not only did I feel like I was home in cities in a way I never will in this community, I also had access to other things that are important to me.
I miss independent cinema and film festivals. I miss vegetarian restaurants (and the ones I frequented were not the expensive ones). I miss theater. I miss so many things that cities offer. For someone like me, these other things that are tied to my lesbianism but also apart from it, help to make the world a better place.
There are definite strengths to this book. I loved the introduction and may use it when I teach LGBTQ Studies this fall. I loved Allen's discussion of *queer*. But, in the end, the red America she painted rang false to me. In the end, it seemed too much like the other books I have read recently where experiences are inflated to become a universal rather than the individual stories they really are.
emilyann15's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
This book is truly a work of art. (I listened to the audiobook on Libby.) The blend of personal reflection and growth with a broader narrative of deep-rooted queerness in the US is seamless and moving. I loved so much listening to Allen tell me about her adventures and interviews, and as someone who feels so disheartened every day about what queer people have to go through in America, this book gave me a much needed perspective of resilience, beauty, hope, and belonging. Would recommend this a million times over.
maramergens's review against another edition
3.0
Weirdly just didn’t really do it for me. I think it was written with very specific intentions to find hope during the shock and bleakness of the early Trump administration. I also just have very little interest in politics outside of the fact that they’re necessary in our current system to give people basic human rights.
fishpantspeacock's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
1.75