We all have to check in some time to the Grief Motel. The queens talk about grief and how poetry helps us cope.Please support indie bookshops, like Loyalty Bookstores. Aaron Smith’s new book, Stop Lying, is out on January 31, 2023 and is available for pre-order here.You can buy James’s book of personal essays, I Liked You Better Before I Knew You So Well, here.Watch Thom L. Higgins throw a pie in Anita Bryant's face here. He was one of four activists who disrupted the press conference (held on Oct. 14, 1978). Anita said, “At least it’s a fruit pie,” before she broke down into tears. Her husband immediately joined hands with Anita and said, “Anita, let’s pray for him.” Anita said, “We forgive you and we love you, and father, please deliver him from his demon lifestyle.” The husband said, “I don’t want this man harmed in any way,” and afterwards found found the queer activists out in the parking lot and threw some of the pie in one of their faces too. Read more about Higgins here and his papers here. What Keeps Me Here by Rebecca Brown was published in 1996 by Harper Collins. Watch this incredible interview with Lucy Grealey on The Charlie Rose Show (~15 min).If you or someone you love needs some mental health resources:Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has a hotline (English and Spanish) as well as a list of resources.American Counseling Association has some great articles on coping mechanisms for different kinds of grief here. The Center for Grief Recovery and Therapeutic Services has a terrific resource guide here. I recommend the The Trevor Project for LGBTQIA folks, though the Trans Lifeline is perhaps the best resource for TGNC folks.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.