I'm From Driftwood
The stories on I’m From Driftwood send a simple but powerful message to LGBTQIA+ people everywhere: You are not alone. I’m From Driftwood combats isolation and creates empathy to build a more understanding and accepting world. These are our stories, told in our own voices.
Latest Gender Stories
Non-Binary Excellence: How One Employee’s Authenticity Served as a Model for Others.
My name is Will Verchereau. I’m from Lansing, Michigan. In May 2011, I found myself freshly graduated from Michigan State University and crying alone in my closet in my apa...
Hate Hits Home: How One Queer Couple’s Lives Were Upended By the 2016 Election.
My name is Jovier Sanchez and I’m from New York, New York. So I moved to Salem with my husband in 2015. We opened a candle store there and it was on the first floor of the&...
Trans CPS Investigator Resigns Rather Than Support Texas’ Anti-Trans Policies.
My name is Morgan Davis. I’m from Austin, Texas. A year ago, I was an investigator with Child Protective Services. At the time, Governor Abbott, the governor of Texas, aske...
Non-Binary Person Thrives After Finding Supportive Community. “I Feel Very Optimistic.”
Hi, I’m Vic. I’m from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. When I was younger, I felt like I knew I was different and my body was not mine. And the way I remembe...
Trans Man Breaks Free From Evangelical Cult and Finds Supportive Community.
I’m Andy, and I’m from Tallahassee, Florida. So I was raised in an evangelical cult. I didn’t realize that at the time. I thought this was a normal church and n...
A Lesson, Then a Plan: How a Sixth Grade Student Changed a Trans Teacher’s Life
I identified as a girl for most of my life, but in 5th grade I started getting a lot of anxiety around school. And it wasn’t until I realized that clothing and the way people...
Three Weddings and a Reconciliation: How One Trans Man’s Patience Helped Heal Family Wounds
Hi, my name is Connor Maddocks. I’m from San Diego, California. When I was say about 45 years old, this amazing thing called the Internet came out and I met some folks onli...
“Now It’s Time to Tell My Granddaughter.” Trans Woman Finds Love & Support After Coming Out to Family.
I’m Christynne Lili Wrene Wood, 66 years old. I’m originally from Springfield, Ohio. I’m one of those who knew from a very early age, four years of age actually...
From NSYNC Cover Band Drag King to Coming Out at Work, Trans Man Shares Journey to Self-Acceptance
My name is Jay Beaulieu, I’m from South Pasadena, California. When I was six years old, I remember learning how to play basketball. I was on the court learning to shoot fre...
Queer Person Thrives After Choosing Theater Over Evangelism. “How Could It Possibly Be a Sin?”
My name is Dina Paolo Rodriguez. I’m from El Caja, Peru. We immigrated to the US, to Miami, in the late nineties and my mom became a born again Christian, evangelical Chris...
How One Trans Couple Found Love During the Pandemic. “Don’t Be Afraid to Love and to Let It In.”
I am Darius McLean and I’m from Newfield, New Jersey. About seven years ago I was working at the Mazzoni Center and the CHOP Gender Clinic. When I was working at Mazzoni Ce...
“You Will Find Your Way.” Transgender Woman’s Multi-Stop–And Ongoing–Journey to Realizing Her Identity.
My name is Samantha. I’m from Houston, Texas. When I was in college, just kind of finishing my degree at University of Texas in Austin, I started dating this guy whom I had...
