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 Gay Men Stories
Closeted Gay College Athlete Learns to Speak Up For Others Following Transformative Pride Experience. “It Makes You A Better Person.”
Hi, my name is Dre’Quan Reed. I was born and raised in New Brunswick, New Jersey. I grew up in an area where it was pretty much a lot of masculinity going around. I had to presen...
Gay Man Acknowledges Sexuality at High School Retreat, Then Comes Out To Mom. “I Will Not Allow Darkness To Creep Over My Life.”
I’m Trevor McCray and I’m from Baltimore, Maryland. In my family, there’s a rule – I don’t know about yours – but it’s an unspoken rule that family business stays wit...
Gay Man Reconciles Faith and Sexuality After Profanity-Laden Defense of Mother at Church.
Hi, I’m Danny Lopez. I am from Austin, Texas. Thirteen, 14 years ago, I started dating this guy. Everything was going good and well. Unfortunately, he was outed. In a way I was h...
Oscar-Winning Movie About Drag Queens Gives Teen Courage To “Live as Out Loud as I Possibly Could.”
My name’s Wallace West and I’m from Houston, Texas. Coming of age in very conservative Texas, that’s still very conservative, I didn’t see much of myself in movies. I was e...
After Gay Man Comes Out as HIV+, Parents Evolve From Ambivalence to Activism. “I Couldn’t Be More Proud of Them.”
My name is Bart Loeser and I’m from Houston, Texas. So it was summer, early summer of 1986. And my best friend who was my roommate previously had just moved to San Francisco a co...
1980 Shooting At A Gay Bar Leads Gay Man To Learn Resiliency at the Onset of the AIDS Epidemic.
My name is Kevin Usher. I grew up in Cinnaminson, New Jersey. November 19th, 1980, me, a recent graduate from Boston Conservatory, living in Greenwich Village. I had a good friend,...
A Letter From Founder & Executive Director Nathan Manske
The stories on I’m From Driftwood send a message that you’re not alone, no matter who you are or what you’re going through. But it also provides an opportunity for the LGBTQIA+ comI was inspired to create I’m From Driftwood after seeing a photograph of Harvey Milk, one of the first openly gay elected officials in the United States, riding on the hood of a ...
Gay Man Confronts Mother Over Microaggression. “Why Did You Introduce Him to Everybody Just as My Friend?”
I’m John Bronston. I’m from Richmond, Indiana. And it was the Thanksgiving after my sister passed away, I had just turned 30 years old and I was bringing home a boyfriend for t...
Gay Man Confronted By Ex-Wife. “I Hear You Have a Rainbow Sticker on Your Car.”
My name is Frank Zahn and I’m from Washington DC. The time is 1998. I’m living in California and it’s about 18 months after my marriage of five years to a woman came to a clo...
Gay Man Achieves Dream of Graduating Art School and Becoming a Drag Queen After Telling Parents to “F*** Off.”
Hi, I’m Gunner. I’m from Alpharetta, Georgia. My whole life since I was a kid, any birthday money, any Christmas money, anything that was given to me was put aside in a bank ac...
Despite Homophobia and Bullying, Gay Haitian Comes Out and Learns Strength and Patience. “We Have to Have That Patience to Teach Them How to Love Us.”
I’m Dimitry Etienne. I’m from Carrefour Marin in Haiti. Growing up there, being in school, there were words that people would use that I had no concept of because we lived so f...
After Friend’s Death by Suicide, Gay Musician Expresses Trauma Through Art. “Being Vulnerable Allows People In.”
I’m Blake Allen and I’m from El Paso, Texas. And when I was 18, I moved to Provo, Utah to go to school at Brigham Young University. Provo and BYU are very Mormon and LDS, and s...
