I hope y'all are ready to hear me discuss books, the importance of seeing yourself reflected in story, and generally welcoming you to a couch conversation with my wife, Stacey. Stacey is a high school English teacher, super cool LBGTQ human, and avid reader. She talks about her love of books, who empowered her as an adult, and the want she had as a kiddo for seeing herself reflected in literature.

Trigger warning: Mention of LGBTQIA suicide. 

• You can contact Stacey at msreece@yahoo.com or at stacey.reece@knoxschools.org
• Books Stacey referenced:   
  • The God Box by Alex Sanchez (LGBTQ youth and religion) 
  • "It's Okay to Be Different" by Todd Parr 
• If you are or love an LGBTQIA youth, please head over to The Trevor Project to read about how vital support is at preventing suicide in our youth.https://www.thetrevorproject.org/research-briefs/estimate-of-how-often-lgbtq-youth-attempt-suicide-in-the-u-s/
• "The Trevor Project’s 2021 National Survey of LGBTQ Youth Mental Health found that 19.0% of LGBTQ youth ages 13–18 and 8.3% of LGBTQ youth ages 19–24 reported attempting suicide in the past year. Applying these rates to the estimates of LGBTQ youth living in the U.S. results in an estimated 503,073 LGBTQ youth between the ages of 13–18 and 209,917 between the ages of 19–24 who attempted suicide in the past year, for a total of 712,990 LGBTQ youth between the ages of 13–24."

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Image credits: Christina Perkins 

Music credits to the band Tellios.  You can find them on Facebook at Tellios.bandcamp.com