Thursday, May 16, 2013

SUSAN: POST "Hop Against Homophobia" and GIVEAWAY


Love Affair with an e-Reader is proud to be a part of the "Hop Against Homophobia and Transphobia" to bring attention to International Day Against Homophobia (May 17, 2013)!!!

Hi! I'm Susan, one of the reviewers on Love Affair with an e-Reader. I read and review M/M romance books.  It is my honor and pleasure to take part in this year's Hop Against Homophobia alongside some of my favorite authors, bloggers, and publishers.  Here's my story:


This is not a post about religion…it’s a post about love…


I grew up in a very charismatic Christian home and I was OBSESSED with the church...think "Jesus Camp" if you've ever seen the movie.  I was a Sunday school teacher, a youth group leader, and even a missionary for a time.  I JUDGED THE HELL out of every single person I thought was a "sinner” and I spread the gospel like a champ to “save” those that were lost. And in my mind, that included the gay community. (though to be fair, I was an equal opportunity judger.)

I was also MISERABLE. Guilt, shame, hatred, and never feeling "good enough" consumed me.

While living in San Francisco, I decided to participate in my church's prayer walk in the Castro (gay neighborhood). Armed with Bibles and determination, we walked the streets  praying for the "lost". The group I was with ended up getting into an altercation with some gay residents that turned violent both verbally and physically.  It was a hate crime. Totally appalled at what I was witnessing, I turned and ran home.

WHAT JUST HAPPENED? 


And then it hit me…this monumental revelation…I've been doing it ALL WRONG. God is not fire and brimstone and wrath and hate. GOD IS LOVE. Where the FUCK was the LOVE? In all my years as an active participant in the church, was LOVE ever the motivation…was it ever the goal?  And with this simple yet profound understanding, I renounced my guilt. I renounced my shame. I renounced my anger and my hate.  

And I opened up my life and my heart to all kinds of people and experiences that I would not have EVER been involved with in the past, and...I let myself LIVE - not under a title of "Christian" but under a mantra of "LOVE".

I've never been happier. 

Today, I am actively involved in the support of those who help LGBT youth. It breaks me to hear about kids being disowned and thrown out by their (most often) Christian families because of being gay. It terrifies me that if I had remained as I was in the past, I might have done the same thing. Thank GOD that my eyes and my heart were opened to a different way…a better way… a way of LOVE and acceptance and care.

As an active reader of M/M fiction (<- this also, obviously, would not have happened in the past! Ha!), I am proud to dedicate today’s blog post as part of the “Hop Against Homophobia” along with others in the LGBT literary community.  No matter if you believe in a higher power or not, call him/her God or something else…we can all stand to LOVE one another a little more…yes?


GIVEAWAY:

Because this is a book review blog (!!!!) and also because of my passion for LGBT youth, the giveaway is 2 parts:

$50 gift certificate to All Romance e-Books
$50 donation in your name to Lost & Found Youth

Enter to win by leaving a comment (a simple "in" or a smiley face will do! :) ) on this post. (Become a Follower of the blog and you'll be entered a SECOND time as well! Double your chances!) One winner will be selected at random at the end of the Hop (May 27th). 


Now, hop on to another blog and read another story w/ another giveaway!!!!

38 comments:

  1. While I already knew most of this about you Susan, reading it just now gave me chills. I can attest to the fact that you are "now" a beautiful, loving, non-judgmental human being and I'm very proud to know YOU.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a great story, Susan! Something about the fact that your revelation came in the Castro just makes it all the better. :) ((hugs))

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hello, Susan! I'm so glad that you found the love, and very proud of you for making such a significant change in your life. You give me hope! ♥

    ReplyDelete
  4. *HUGS* Susan, you NEVER cease to amaze me. I'm so proud and lucky to call you my friend! xoxo ~Jen/Wiz

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank you for sharing your story.

    I'm in.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Great post! You wrote an amazing blog post here :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks for sharing Susan and for your work with Hop Against Homophobia and Transphobia!

    *hugs*

    ReplyDelete
  8. Let me just say... You Rock!

    ReplyDelete
  9. susan, thank you so much for sharing such a personal part of yourself . . . amazing! you are such an amazing person . . .

    ReplyDelete
  10. Loved your post. Amazing! Now that I know you have a blog I am following. :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. YES! we certainly can stand to LOVE each other more....though I knew your touching story, it still moves me each time you share it. I am in awe with the love you spread! Thanks for being you...
    luv ya,
    ~S

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thank you for taking part in the hop!

    In order to combat hatred, we must spread love. Educate others, bring awareness, because every person who has their mind opened is one person closer to a world where homophobia and transphobia doesn’t exist.

    kimberlyFDR@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  13. I love this story, Susan. You're so strong, so loving, and so GOOD. Thanks for being such a splendid advocate for love!

    ReplyDelete
  14. It was wonderful of you to share such an intimate part of yourself. I admire you even more now. Thanks! :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Great story! Thanks for sharing and for hosting the contest. :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. It's MEEEEEEE, MEEEEEE!!!! lol. Anyways, love the post and love the blog site. Please enter me into the contest. :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. As a child, I was raised in a strong RC family and my Grandmother, bless her, attended church every single day. The thing is, she had a lesbian daughter and a gay grandson and they were loved by her and treated just as everyone else in the family was. I have to thank mamere for her example of loving acceptance of everyone(not that I knew this at the time)and making it a non issue in our family.

    ReplyDelete
  18. That was a really wonderful post!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Great post Susan! Love is all we need, just some LOVE.

    pantsoffreviews@live.ca

    ReplyDelete
  20. Thank you for your great post. Love is so important! Thanks for participating in the blog hop!
    -Marie

    awindandbooks at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  21. Yeah! You know where my heart is on this topic. We can all be allies, not bystanders!

    ReplyDelete
  22. That was a wonderful post. Thank you for sharing and participating in the hop!

    Beth
    JPadawan11@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  23. Thank you for sharing Susan! Gives people a little more hope in humanity and their ability to change. It was lovely reading your story and post! :)

    vivianingreen(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry! the email should be...

      vivian(dot)ingreen(at)gmail(dot)com.

      Delete
  24. You make my heart ache with how much love you have to give Susan. {{hugs}}

    ReplyDelete
  25. Wow! That is...really damned incredible. I feel honored to (kind of) know you.

    Email is oddness_weirdness(at)yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  26. Thanks for sharing and caring!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Thank you so much for your post and participating in this amazing hop!

    sophiebonaste@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  28. Thank you for sharing your story, it was unexpected and I'm glad you saw through all of it and opened yourself to new experiences and ideas. Thank you for taking part in this hop!!

    humhumbum AT yahoo DOT com

    ReplyDelete
  29. Such a brave and touching story...very inspiring!

    Trix, vitajex(at)aol(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  30. Thanks so much for your post in this blog hop and for sharing your story! Such an important subject.
    Follow: OceanAkers
    OceanAkers @ aol.com

    ReplyDelete
  31. Great post! Thank you for taking part in the hop!
    GFC - Sherry S.
    sstrode at scrtc dot com

    ReplyDelete
  32. Thank you for the post, I've followed your blog.

    peggy1984 at live dot com

    ReplyDelete
  33. Hi! Wonderful post! Thanks for being apart of this fantastic hop! Its sad how some people are. Im happy to say, im glad were all different! I think being brave enough to say you love someone, no matter the sex, is amazing! People should find there happiness. Who cares what others think. The only people that matter, are the ones in the relationship. Too many people in this world are simple minded. Thanks for sharing! Have a wonderful night!
    GFC: shadow_kohler
    shadowluvs2read(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  34. Thanks a bunch for sharing and participating!

    GFC: Emily

    tiger-chick-1(at)hotmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  35. Wow, what a great post! Truly shows the power of love and open-mindedness.

    Anastasia Vitsky

    ReplyDelete