Seriously though. When you're life is hyphenated, how do you put it altogether to live the life you want? Today we meet Natalie Cruz and we’re talking about the book that saved her life: We Are All Armenian edited by Aram Mrjoian and featuring eighteen essayists. Natalie lives in Philly, is the managing editor of the Queer Armenian Library, teaches Art History at Camden County College, and is a PhD candidate at Temple University. We Are All Armenian brings together established and emerging Armen...
May 14, 2024•37 min
They say what matters most is love. But for a lot of us...that’s not what matters most. Today we meet Jake Mier and we’re talking about the book that saved their life: Loveless by Alice Oseman. Jake lives in the Twin Cities and works in restorative justice. Loveless is the funny, honest, messy, completely relatable story of Georgia, who doesn't understand why she can't crush and kiss and make out like her friends do. She's surrounded by the narrative that dating + sex = love. It's not until she ...
Apr 30, 2024•35 min
That moment when you meet kindred queer spirits in podcasting. Today we have a special cross-pollination episode with the Queer Spirit podcast. The Queer Spirit podcast has conversations with embodied artists, practitioners and activists who care for, enliven and empower our 2SLGBTQ+ communities to thrive + flourish. Their hosts are Nick Venegoni, MA (he>they) and TanyaMarck Oviedo (they/them). Nick is a holistic psychotherapist based on unceded Ohlone territory (San Francisco, CA), where he ...
Apr 23, 2024•45 min
All the love in our queer families. Today we meet Archie Arnold and we’re talking about the book that saved his life: Love Lives Here: A Story of Thriving in a Transgender Family by Rowan Jetté Knox. Archie is a grant writer working at a community college in Minnesota. His career in grants and fundraising spans twenty years. Rowan Jetté Knox is an author, speaker and human rights advocate. His work in LGBTQ2S+ inclusion and mental health awareness has sparked change worldwide. was humbled to be ...
Apr 16, 2024•52 min
As gay kids we have to get through so much that we end up not remembering a lot of our childhoods. Today we meet K Jason Bryan and we’re talking about the book that saved his life: Becoming A Man: Half A Life Story by Paul Monette. Jason is a Sr Client Consultant for corporate insurance, and used to chair his company’s LGBT & Allies ERG. He is a former member of the Governors Board at the Human Rights Campaign. He also served as the Membership Director at Quorum, Minnesota's LGBTQ Chamber of...
Apr 02, 2024•33 min
No one ever told me that I could be divine. That my sexuality was a gift. Today we meet Sandy Hope and we’re talking about the book that saved her life: Swinging on the Garden Gate by Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew. And Elizabeth joins us for the conversation! Sandy is a licensed mental health counselor whose practice focuses Internal Family Systems theory. She works with people around sexuality, spirituality, couples therapy, and people who struggle with eating disorders. Elizabeth is an author, writ...
Mar 19, 2024•48 min
Everyone calls me ma'am on the phone. I love it. Today we meet Jacob Budenz and we’re talking about the book that saved their life: Dress Your Family In Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris. Jacob is a true multi-hyphenate: musician, author, performance artist, director, and witch. Jacob published their new book Tea Leaves in 2023 and is the front person for the band Moth Broth. Dress Your Family In Corduroy and Denim is an essay collection where David Sedaris lifts the corner of ordinary life, r...
Mar 05, 2024•44 min
When a closeted queer kid meets his fairy godfather what does he wish for? Today we meet Ricardo Galaviz and we’re talking about the book that saved his life: Am I Blue? by Bruce Coville. And Bruce joins us for the conversation! Ricardo (all pronouns) is the Associate Director of the Milwaukee LGBT Center. Bruce (he/him) is the author of over 100 books including My Teacher is an Alien , Into the Land of Unicorns , and Jeremy Hatcher, Dragon Hatcher . Am I Blue? Coming Out From The Silence is an ...
Feb 20, 2024•44 min
A tomboy who wants to be Perry Mason (and has a crush on Della) included this book on job applications. Today we meet Jean M. Gustafson and we’re talking about the book that saved her life: To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Jean M. Gustafson is a seasoned attorney who specializes in various branches of law, including employment law, elder law, criminal and family law. She is licensed in the states of Minnesota, South Dakota, Utah and Federal Court of the District of Minnesota. She has also re...
Feb 06, 2024•28 min
Are you ready to un-ban LGBT books in real time? I share with you about The Banned Book Club and then I sit down with the head of the project: John Bracken who is the Executive Director of The Digital Public Library of America. How to start reading: Download the Palace Project App for iOS or Android in the Apple App store or Google Play . Open the app Select Banned Book Club Start reading! Banned Book Club website: thebannedbookclub.info Digital Public Library of American website: pro.dp.la Cred...
Jan 30, 2024•16 min
It was such a catharsis that I took the book into the woods and acted out scenes from it. Today we meet Leon Acord and we’re talking about the book that saved his life: The Front Runner by Patricia Nell Warren. Leon Acord is the author of the memoirs Expletives Not Deleted and Sub-Lebrity: The Queer Life of a Showbiz Footnote . Leon created, wrote, and starred in the TV series Old Dogs & New Tricks on Amazon Prime Video. On stage, he has performed in numerous West Coast premieres at the New ...
Jan 23, 2024•44 min
You go to his place to hook up. The book that saves your life is on his coffee table. Today we meet Philip Anthony and we’re talking about the book that saved his life: The Homosexualization of America by Dennis Altman. And Dennis joins us for the conversation! Philip is based in Minneapolis and is host of the podcast The Downright Upright Show . Dennis is the son of Jewish refugees, and a writer and academic who first came to attention with the publication of his book Homosexual: Oppression &am...
Jan 09, 2024•33 min
Today, we meet Jeff Billington and his new novel: Summer's Second . In this novel, Asher Brock’s last summer of youth is far from ideal. His hopes for the future, including an escape from his constricting Ozark Mountains hometown, seem increasingly fragile as he faces hurdles of poverty and abuse, all while coming to terms with being gay. Jeff Billington is the author of Chicken Dinner News and Summer's Second . He has worked as a journalist, Communications Director for a member of Congress, and...
Dec 26, 2023•10 min
My eighth grade brain was like: they're such great friends AND they kiss on the mouth?! That's great! Today we meet Maya Williams and we’re talking about the book that saved their life: The Color Purple by Alice Walker. Maya Williams (ey/em, they/them, and she/her) is a religious Black multiracial nonbinary suicide survivor who is currently an Ashley Bryan Fellow and the seventh Poet Laureate of Portland, Maine . Maya's debut poetry collection, Judas & Suicide , is available through Game Ov...
Dec 12, 2023•40 min
Without this book, I wouldn't have become me. And I guess I'd be married to a man. Today we meet Adrineh Der Boghossian and we’re talking about the book that saved her life: Princess Freak by Nancy Agabian. And Nancy joins us for the conversation! Princess Freak documents through poetry and prose texts Nancy's coming-of-age of as a shy, funny, bisexual Armenian-American woman who flees the small town of Walpole, Massachusetts to tell the stories of her family. Adrineh Der Boghossian (no relation...
Nov 28, 2023•59 min
Today, Once Upon a Crime Books presents 7 Minutes in Book Heaven, the podcast where we interview LGBTQ authors about the new books they have coming out for us to love and cuddle up with. Once Upon a Crime Books is an independent bookstore specializing in mystery fiction. Located in Uptown Minneapolis, you can shop in their store Monday through Saturday 11am – 5:30pm. Or, visit their website! There, you can browse all of their books, from new releases to classic mysteries. In this new episode, On...
Nov 21, 2023•12 min
Ancient queer Greek love. The Easter Bunny. And everything in between. Today we meet Christina Bagni and we’re talking about the book that saved her life The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. Christina is an editor, host of Classics and Chill, and the author of the YA novel My Only Real Friend is the Easter Bunny at the Mall . For Christina, The Song of Achilles not only helped her to process a painful past relationship, but it also put her on a path to host a podcast based on the novel's sou...
Nov 14, 2023•33 min
You didn't realize you'd end up reading a charming gay couple's 3,100 love letters. Today we meet Scott Bane and we’re talking about the book that launched a life-saving journey for him: American Renaissance by F.O. Matthiessen. Scott is a Program Officer at the John A. Hartford Foundation and author of A Union Like Ours: The Love Story of F.O. Matthiessen and Russel Cheney . Imagine coming across a book in a New York Times Book Review that introduces you to a writer whose little told life-long ...
Oct 31, 2023•33 min
I knew something was wrong, but what? This book helped me realize I have a disability. And it's treatable. Today we meet David-Elijah Nahmod and we’re talking about the book that saved his life: Blind: A Memoir by Belo Miguel Cipriani. And Belo joins us for the conversation! David-Elijah Nahmod is a freelance journalist in San Francisco, who writes for publications all over the country and in Canada. Belo Miguel Cipriani is a digital inclusion strategist, author, and publisher. Blind: A Memoir i...
Oct 17, 2023•41 min
We meet Dianna Hunter and her new novel Clouded Waters which releases today: October 10! What's it about? When a local water scientist goes missing, newspaper owner Susan B. Ellingson follows a trail of evidence from a tiny, off-grid community into a global tangle of lies, corruption, whistleblowing, and danger. All the while her mother-in-law leads a group of Ojibwe and Métis grandmothers fighting to protect the water, and when after an intriguing new woman comes to town, Susan isn't sure how t...
Oct 10, 2023•13 min
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 passio...
Oct 03, 2023•41 min
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 Magi...
Sep 19, 2023•45 min
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,...
Sep 12, 2023•8 min
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 M...
Sep 05, 2023•9 min
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, g...
Aug 29, 2023•12 min
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...
Aug 22, 2023•11 min
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, ev...
Aug 15, 2023•10 min
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 t...
Aug 08, 2023•12 min
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’...
Aug 01, 2023•12 min
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...
Jul 25, 2023•7 min
