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 Voices Stories
Hymn Leads Queer Christian to Come Out to His Parents
My name is Dr. Marlon Johnson. I am from Sumter, South Carolina. When I was finishing up the first year of my time in grad school, I was learning to become a professional coun...
Becoming Herself: A Trans Woman’s Journey Through Identity and Survival
My name’s Alexis. I’m from Brownsville, Texas. I grew up very feminine in a conservative family. We grew up on the southern border and I kind of was just developin...
How One Poetry Slam Led to a Queer Movement
My name is Crush. I’m from Dallas. I grew up in a fairly intensely religious household and did not see queerness anywhere around me. I eventually got to high school wher...
HIV Diagnosis Leads to Hope, Healing, & Purpose
Hey, I’m Chris and I’m from Memphis, Tennessee. I kind of always realized that I was a little bit different. You know, in school I was always called gay before I e...
How Music Helped One Trans Guitarist Survive and Thrive
My name’s Jennifer Knight and I’m from Canada. I knew from age two that I was female or trans as they call it, at that age. During the Atomic era, being a child of...
Music, Pride, and Perseverance: Leading a Queer Marching Band During the AIDS Epidemic
Hi, my name is Sam Gindin and I’m from Brooklyn. One of the memories I have, which definitely turned my life around, was when I went to a local party. And I went there w...
School District Tried to Erase LGBTQIA+ Families–And Failed
So I’m Peggy Gillespie and I’m living in North Hampton, Massachusetts. Back in 1993, I was a mom of a three-year-old multiracial child. In preschool, my kid was gr...
Trans Man Thought He Had It All—Until He Found His True Self
I am Criss Christoff Smith. I grew up on a farm in Jamaica. When I was about six years old, I was on my grandmother’s farm playing with my older brother. My grandmother ...
The Trans Woman Behind the NYC Subway Announcements
My name is Bernie Wagenblast. I’m from Cranford, New Jersey. I was four years old. I recall being at my grandmother’s house, sitting in front of her vanity, putting o...
Northampton—“Lesbianville, USA”—Faces Protest, Fear, and Flying Eggs at Its First Pride
I’m Jane Fleishman. I’m from Long Beach, New York and social justice is baked into my genes. I wanna tell you a story about how I got involved in the first Pride m...
“Um, But…Why?” Nonbinary Person Navigates Questions After Coming Out
I’m Aria Renee Curameng and I’m from Fort Washington, Maryland. Back in, I want to say 2021, I went out with a friend of mine and we constantly went to piano bars....
“That’s My Daughter”: Construction Dad Doesn’t Hesitate to Support Trans Woman
My name is Sasha Buchert and I’m from Portland, Oregon. When I was younger, Iike a lot of people, I didn’t have the greatest relationship with my dad. We just weren&#...
