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 Sexuality Stories
Arrested For Being Gay At 14 Years Old. “It Was Police Entrapment.”
My name is Harold Kooden, and I was born in Chicago. We moved to California, North Hollywood, California. At about eleven, I discovered quite accidentally in one of the johns in th...
Romanian Orphan Uninvited To Christmas By Adoptive Parents After Coming Out As Gay.
I’m Florin Helf and I’m from Bucharest, Romania. I was born in a Romanian hospital, my mother gave birth to me, falsified her identification, and fled the hospital. She left me...
“Don’t Struggle With Something You Can’t Control.” Gay Son Receives Sage Advice From Mom.
My name is Matthew Leach and I’m from Denton, Texas. I went to school at the University of Texas in Austin. When I was a sophomore at college I was in a fraternity, Tau Kappa Eps...
“Something Told Me That Cops Can’t Be Gay.”
My name is Dennis Rudder and I’m from Baytown, Texas. You know, when I was a kid growing up, going through high school and all, there was always that thought in the back...
Senior Class President Fights To Have Gay Student’s Letter Printed In Paper
I’m Fataah Dihaan, I’m from Buffalo, New York. I went to an all-boys Jesuit private high school, President of the class, I was fairly popular. My Senior year I was editor of ou...
Teaching Mom About STIs and How To Use A Condom
I’m Christa Orth and I’m from Bothell, Washington. I grew up as a teenager there in the early 90s and I grew up Catholic so I’d go to church every Sunday with my parents. Bec...
“These White Gay Guys Are Coming To Take All Our Jobs.” Workplace Discrimination In The Mayor’s Office.
My name is James Felton Keith. I’m from Detroit Michigan. I moved back home in 2014 to work for the newly elected mayor of Detroit. A few days before I was supposed to start work...
After Near-Fatal Bout With Weight Loss, Gay Son Chooses Happiness Over Father’s Approval.
My name is Richard Fox and I’m from Queens, New York. I, in my adolescence, had gained some weight as a kid, say from my second grade to high school I basically progressively bec...
I’m From Tucson, AZ.
My horoscope once said that with a new planetary shift it will be the end of “me” consciousness and the beginning of “us” consciousness. I will suddenly shift from self-cen...
“It Ripped My Heart Out” Choosing To Fit In Instead Of Interacting With Gay Friend
My name is Cameron Stiehl and I’m from Albuquerque, New Mexico. I’ll never forget the day that I found out that there was a difference. I was at a drama festival in Albuquerque...
Discovering Sexuality–And A Handsome Prayer Buddy–At A Christian College
My name is Shawn Walker and I’m originally from Columbia, South Carolina. I can remember when I was really young at like 11 years old living in Louisiana. My parents were station...
Man’s Wife Encourages Him To Have Sexual Experience With Another Man.
I was born in London, England in 1951, and I’ve lived in Germany and Holland. I moved to Italy, Tuscany in 1976. I suppose by the age of 12, that was a rather important moment in...
