Review by Booklist Review
In their essential new book, Hays, Founder and Lead Evangelist of Ft. Worth's Galileo Church, and Chiasson, a social scientist, have gathered the latter's insightful interviews with fifteen queer members of Galileo and their families. In her interviews Chiasson asked each respondent the same questions--such as "What was it like coming out to your family of origin?" "What were their reactions? How did you handle them?" and so forth. Each answer is offered in the transcribed words of the respondents, who range in age from their early twenties to their late-fifties, are single and married, and identify as lesbian, gay, trans, gender fluid, and gender queer. The answers are uniformly illuminating exercises in empathy (keep a box of tissues handy), invaluable for their insights into the widely varying conditions of being queer or queer friendly. Family remains the focus of the book, which is sure to make a positive difference in the lives of its readers, queer or straight.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Hays (We Were Spiritual Refugees), pastor at the Galileo Christian Church in Fort Worth, Tex., teams up with parishioner and social scientist Chiasson for this illuminating anthology of oral histories that focus on how queer Christians who worship at Galileo have navigated relationships with their families. The entries represent a range of sexual orientations and gender identities, as well as different strategies for handling aspects of familial relationships, including unconditional love, tentative truce, and estrangement. For example, one parishioner feels relieved when his coming out means "finally articulating what everybody knew" and he returns to church after many years. For another, being the mother to a gender-fluid child causes "fissures in her marriage and family life," but it also leads her to finally find clarity. One of the book's strengths are the accounts of several families that include adult LGBTQ children, their partners, and affirming parents who all offer perspectives on building bridges and setting boundaries with their extended families--in some cases helping relatives better understand their children's identities, in others drawing boundaries to protect a child from harm. The book offers no blanket prescriptions, instead sharing personal stories that demonstrate the hurdles and opportunities provided by what are often difficult relationships. Christian readers who are LGBTQ, or those with a friend or family member who is, will find hope, comfort, and solidarity here. (Apr.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Some people assume that being LGBTQ+ and Christian are incompatible, but in fact there are many who seek to reconcile those identities, and many communities that support them. One such community is Galileo Church outside of Fort Worth. This book is the product of Galileo Church pastor Hays and social scientist Chasson. Its 15 stories reflect a variety of experiences of queer people, regarding family and Christianity; these evolve, not necessarily into resolutions, but into different understandings of relationships with others and with belief. The book's strength lies in the range of its storytellers, including people who come out to parents and siblings and are welcomed, and others who navigate being rejected by their family of origin and finding chosen family along the way. Each chapter begins with background information on its narrators, who then proceed to tell their stories in their own words. One poignant chapter recalls the emotional burden of continually coming out to one family member after another. VERDICT These moving narratives, offering firsthand perspectives from a racially diverse group of LGBTQ Christians and their families, will resonate with many.--David Azzolina, Univ. of Pennsylvania Libs., Philadelphia
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