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
Gay Son Brings Mom to His Ball… and She Ends Up Competing
I’m Ryan Thompson. I’m from Houston, Texas. And in high school, I was out in school, but not out to my mom. A couple of years later, I’m in college, first win...
Coming Out as Gender Expansive to Family
I’m Andrew Knips. I’m from St. Paul, Minnesota. I grew up in the ’90s and early 2000s and in a really, really loving, caring home. My parents provided me wit...
San Antonio Rallies Around Drag Queen After Cancer Diagnosis
I’m Kristi Waters. I am from Corpus Christi, Texas, and I am a drag queen. Started in Corpus doing drag and I kind of flourished more over here in San Antonio. Around th...
A Gay Man’s Journey From Self-Loathing to Self-Acceptance
I am Harrison David Eppright, and I’m from Austin, Texas. About 1960… I’ll say 1968, I came across an article in Time Magazine. I was 13 years old, came acro...
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...
Adoption, Transition, and Becoming Whole
I’m Jendi Reiter and I’m from New York City. I grew up in the lower East side of Manhattan in the 1970s with two moms. My biological mom was very femme and kind of...
He Went to a Rally… and Met His Future Husband
My name is Larry Picard. I’m from Holyoke, Massachusetts. So I met my first, well, my only girlfriend when I was 19 years old, and I was a singing waiter and she was a s...