E21 - Jillian Abby - QueerAbby.com - Coming Out and Letting Others in Part One
Episode description
EPISODE 21 -
Update: Jillian's book is out!
This humorous, heartwarming memoir follows a wife and mother's journey of self-discovery and acceptance as she comes out as a lesbian in her late 30s.
Jill had a happy, healthy 20-year relationship with her college sweetheart, two wonderful kids, and rescue cat from the Humane Society. They lived in a nice suburban home with a white picket fence and owned a small bar that was rated one of the “Best Mom & Pop” businesses in Tampa Bay. From the outside, everything looked perfect.
Perfectly Queer takes the reader on Jillian Abby's poignant and painfully funny rollercoaster of self-discovery as she identifies and eventually accepts herself as a lesbian just before her 40th birthday. Living her new truth means leaving behind a life that, by societal standards, is nearly perfect.
This is a story for anyone who is hiding a piece of themselves and wants to know if it’s safe to be revealed. It’s for the parent who must choose between their own happiness and the stability of their family, wondering if prioritizing themselves is selfish. It’s for the person potentially facing a major life upheaval filled with unknowns in the future who is seeking reassurance that everything will work out just fine.
A two part podcast interview with Jillian Abby aka QueerAbby.com - Jill shares her story with us as she helps to humanize the struggle within the LGBTQIA2S Community for recognition, acceptance and equality.
People can contact me with questions or for bat mitzvah appearances at [email protected]. I would love if they’d sign up for my newsletter (that I’ve never sent) at QueerAbby.com.
Jill is launching her own podcast called “In the Q” in July with Dr. Treisha Peterson (Mama phD) where we discuss that messy middle transition space for the LGBTQ+ and those who love them (but maybe don’t always know how to support them).
Jill shares on her site,...
It's hard to love and appreciate things we don't understand. Our minds seek comfort in the familiar, what it knows and is steady... whether that knowledge is good and true or not.
I've found through my own coming out process, heaps of internalized homophobia. That fear came from not knowing. Shame came from what I thought LGBTQ+ meant, instead of what it actually was. Layers of societal conditioning that told me a story of fiction, instead of fact.
But to paraphrase the brilliant Dr. Maya Angelou, "When we know better, we do better."
Enter this space with curiosity, an open mind, and an open heart.
Ask questions and let's learn more.
Together we can build bridges of understanding.
This special two part episode is meaningful for our family - our daughter let us in on her journey and it hasn't been easy. As parents, Jen and I have grown up with a church background, we have a long-standing Christian heritage and deep beliefs engrained in our thoughts and actions. In a world that tends to focus on what separates us (a belief, an experience, an expression of who we are) our hope is that this conversation will build a bridge. True love erases all fear.
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https://livingthenextchapter.com/
podcast produced by: https://truemediasolutions.ca/
Coffee Refills are always appreciated, refill Dave's cup here, and thanks!
https://buymeacoffee.com/truemediaca