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 Stories
From HRT to FIFA: Trans Athlete Joins a Women’s Soccer Team – Then Creates Her Own
I’m Bethany Cyrtmus-Davaul, and I’m from Hudson, Wisconsin. When I was 28-years-old, in my condo in Chicago, sitting on my nice wine red couch, I was watching some Yo...
Trans Parenthood: Daughter’s Birth Inspires Woman to Live Authentically.
Hi, I’m Sharlot and I am from San Antonio, Texas, originally. I have a 3-year-old daughter. She was born three months before the start of the pandemic. And so I was still w...
Back On Track: Gay Man Finds Fulfillment By Prioritizing His Dreams Over Partying & Distractions.
My name is Daniel. I’m from Guanajuato, Mexico. And when I was 15 years old, I moved to the United States, specifically Reno, Nevada. Ever since when I was a little kid, I al...
Keeping Austin Weird: How One Queer Woman Learned to Let Her Freak Flag Fly.
I’m Erica Nix. I’m from Arlington, Texas. Arlington, when I was growing up, was a pretty conservative place. It wasn’t really that cool to be different, and I alw...
Put It In Writing: Gay Man Learns Tough Lesson After Losing His Partner – and Everything They Built.
Hello, my name is Alfred Engstrand. I’m from San Antonio, Texas. When I was 25 years old, I was approached by an older gentleman who needed my help to run his restaurant, b...
From Bi Erasure to “Flaming Bisexual”: Bi Asian Mom Learns the Value of Visibility.
Hi, I’m Ivy Le from Dallas, Texas. I thought everybody was bisexual. My family immigrated from Vietnam, so I actually grew up in two really conservative cultures; Vietnamese ...
Ctrl+Alt+Defeat Discrimination: How One Trans Activist Transformed the Tech Industry.
My name is Mary Ann Horton, and I’m from San Diego, California. Think back to 1997. I was a closeted cross-dresser working for Lucent Technologies in Columbus, Ohio. I knew...
X-Men & Real-Life Heroes Inspire Gay Man to Become a “Super Lawyer”
Hi, I’m Rick Anderson. I’m from Pearland, Texas. I grew up in the Clear Lake, Friendswood area in my early childhood in the eighties and nineties. And it was a communit...
Love & Loss in Russia: How One Queer Person Drew a Valuable Lesson from Their Teenage Heartbreak.
My name is Irina Groushevaia and I’m from Moscow, Russia. When I was 16 years old, I was living with my estranged father because my mom abandoned me, and it was a difficult...
Gender-Affirming Care Leads Trans Woman From Sex Work & Prison to Motherhood, Marriage, and a Career
I’m Tabytha Gonzalez, pronouns she and her, and I’m from Newark, New Jersey. I first came to New York City. I was with my dance crew, or a dance crew that I was a par...
Gay Aunt Becomes Queer Person’s Beacon of Hope Amid Homophobic Family
My name is Kirsten and I’m from Queens, New York. So when I was growing up, me and my aunt, my mother’s sister, were very close. There was an intensity to that closen...
“We Can’t Be Patient Forever.” Trans Person Finds Joy & Community After Cutting Ties with Family
I’m SJ. I’m from Dallas, Texas. I grew up in a house where it wasn’t really normal for us to talk about our feelings. That was really difficult for me. As a chi...