Sponsored by Channel Kindness by Born This Way Foundation Reporters with Lady Gaga.
In Lady Gaga and Born This Way Foundation’s first book, you’ll find stories of inspiration and community from young storytellers. Within the pages of CHANNEL KINDNESS you’ll meet changemakers who found their inner strength, prevailed in the face of bullies, started their own social movements, and decided to break through the mental health stigma. These storytellers share how they felt, created safe spaces for LGBTQ+ youth, and embraced kindness with every fiber of their being by helping others without the expectation of anything in return.
Well, readers, I got married. So we’re gonna look at nonfiction about different kinds of relationships. There are so many kinds! Live your truth! Let’s look at some books:
Big Friendship: How We Keep Each Other Close by Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman. FRIENDSHIP. The most lasting of the relationships? Probably. Sow and Friedman co-host the podcast Call Your Girlfriend and are also best friends. In their book, they go into what “Big Friendship” means. It is “a strong, significant bond that transcends life phases, geographical locations, and emotional shifts.” If you want to reflect on your own friendships and how to make them last (or just want to read about other people’s friendships!), check this out.
Gracie: A Love Story by George Burns. If you don’t know who George Burns and Gracie Allen are, they were radio and television stars of the ’30s through the ’50s. And married! George Burns was the straight man to Gracie Allen’s off-kilter view of the world. In this account of their marriage, he makes it clear that he 1) loved Gracie so much. 2) No like, so so much. 3) Thought she was the greatest thing on earth. I was semi-obsessed with this book when I was 13.
Naturally Tan: A Memoir by Tan France. It’s Queer Eye‘s Tan! This came out only last year and covers not only his childhood growing up gay and as a person of color in England among a South Asian family, but also his fashion journey and his relationship with his husband. Who did he marry? Yes, that’s right, a gay Mormon cowboy. They’ve been married for almost fifteen years! So here you have a book about a relationship and also a life story.
Then Comes Marriage: United States v. Windsor and the Defeat of DOMA by Roberta Kaplan. Remember when marriage equality was suddenly recognized by the federal government (which is why I can get married today!). This is the story of how that happened, which lies in the long relationship between Edie Windsor and Thea Spyer, as well as the behind-the-scenes of its journey to the Supreme Court, told by the lawyer who brought it there.
Have a truly amazing weekend! As always, you can find me on social media @itsalicetime and co-hosting the nonfiction For Real podcast with Kim here at Book Riot. Until next time, enjoy those facts, fellow nerds.