You're Not from Around Here, Are You?: A Lesbian in Small-Town America

by Louise A. Blum

Book Overview

This is a funny, moving story about life in a small town, from the point of view of a pregnant lesbian. Louise A. Blum, author of the critically acclaimed novel Amnesty, now tells the story of her own life and her decision to be out, loud, and pregnant. Mixing humor with memorable prose, Blum recounts how a quiet, conservative town in an impoverished stretch of Appalachia reacts as she and a local woman, Connie, fall in love, move in together,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0299170942
• ISBN13: 9780299170943
• Release Date: April 2001
• Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Wonderful Book

I read Ms. Blum's book for a Sociology class. I actually started reading it before hand on the recommendation of a friend. I must say that this book is amazing. Ir gives you a view of gay life away from the normal booze drugs and sex. Also Ms. Blum is extremely witty. She is brutally honest about her pregnancy and the troubles it caused her! She also talks in DEPTH about the birth of her daughter. Though I thought some of the sex scenes were too graphic other than that I thought this book to be an amazing read!

One book...so many emotions!

I hope my review isn't seen as less credible because of this, but I know Louise, her wife, and their amazing daughter. She attended a summer camp where I was a counselor and I have to say that she's the most self-actualized individual I have ever known. She's an amazing person, due in no small part to what her moms have gone through in bringing her into the world. :) I'd been wanting to read this book for quite a while once I realized it was out there. I was amazed at how this slim volume brought such a myriad of emotions to the surface. One minute I was laughing, the next minute I was so sad, then I was angry and militant, then disgusted at the evil of some people, then comforted by the love that Connie and Louise obviously share. It's a great book...with a wonderful, frank, conversational style that doesn't hide the facts, but doesn't spare the rich details. You feel like you are right there with them. The dialogue is honest and fleshed out very well. No small wonder, considering Louise's writing abilities! Whether you are gay or straight, consider reading this book. It will help you understand how hard it is to be gay and how wonderful it is as well. And hopefully, it might make you see that it doesn't matter what sexual orientation parents have...just that they truly love and want their children. :)

Great Read

Louise Blum has given us a book that will make you laugh at the outrageous behavior of "decent" people, will make you cry for her struggle to be accepted on her own terms, make you ache with her yearning and cheer for her triumph. Whether you love women or men, the love story touches your heart. But mostly, this book is glaringly honest and doesn't shy from truth on any front. I loved it!

Must have read for Lesbian Moms-to-be

I picked up this book while wondering aimlessly through the aisle at the local library. I thought it would be something to pass the time. Needless the say, the book draws you in, makes you laugh, cry and get angry, all while thinking to yourself "I've been there before". I truly enjoyed the book and would gladly recommend it to all women, whether you are a lesbian or not.

Really a great book

I was a student at the university where Ms. Blum taught while she was pregnant. Working in the book business, I stumbled upon an advertisement for this title in the publishers' catalog. (Of all catalogs to accidentally be placed in my mailbox, of all the pages the catalog could have opened to when it fell out of my mailbox, and of all the things that usually distract me from noticing a name I found familiar - it's a wonder all the pieces fell in place.) Anyway, I immediately ordered the book - if for no other reason than for the fact that it intertwined with my personal history with the university and the Pennsylvania towns she writes about. But I think the book is more than a piece of history. Her words are fluid and poetic. I gobbled up the chapters as if it were chocolate-y fiction, sneaking it in between breaks at work. It speaks to me as a woman, as a "non-traditional" worshipper of religious faith, and as someone who hopes to have her own children someday. I would, and have, recommended this memoir to many people.