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
“Ian McKellen Would Be Proud” Of Teacher Coming Out To Students On The First Day Of Class.
My name is Adam Sandel and I’m originally from Hopkins, Minnesota. When I moved to San Francisco in 2001 when I was officially coming out as a gay man, I didn’t know anyone but...
Dad Comes Out To Kids With Hilarious–And Inspiring–Results.
My name is Brian Hartigan, I’m from Staten Island, New York. I came out late in my life, about 30 years old. And reason being is I had gotten married and I had children. I had co...
Candidate for Texas State Representative: “I’m the LGBTQ Son of an Undocumented Immigrant.”
My name is Huey Rey Fischer. I’m from Rockport, Texas. I grew up on the Texas coast and moved to Austin to study Latin American Studies and Government. Now I’m running for Stat...
Two Stories Capture Twenty Two Years of LGBTQ Progress.
I’m Lynn Currie. I’m from Austin, Texas. Growing up my dad was in the military, so we kind of moved all around. And ended up finishing up high school in a little town called Br...
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...
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...
“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...
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...
“You Have To Leave.” Facing Discrimination In A Hospital At The Height of the AIDS Crisis.
I’m Doug Rice, I’m from Rochester, New York. Robert and I met in 1983 at a record store I was working at. He came in as a customer and I’d just gone to a Talking Heads concer...
