Anthologies

Unmuted: Stories of Courage and Resilience from the GenPRIDE Community

In this riveting testimony to the power of personal storytelling, fourteen LGBTQIA+ midlife and older adults share the struggles and triumphs that shaped their lives.

Some stories delve into issues that marked their generation: AIDS, gender identity, sexuality, persecution, and claiming one’s self. Other stories grapple with health, family, loss, addiction, and love. Unmuted is about heartbreak, courage, strength, and resilience. Each story has a featured written and audio excerpt available anytime at genprideseattle.org/unmuted.

Dear Mr. President: Teen Voices from Across the Country

In this powerful collection of letters, poems and essays, youth from across the United Sates—who couldn’t vote in the 2016 Presidential Election because of their age—share their concerns, hopes and dreams for our county. The issues they raise are daunting: They worry about having their loved ones deported, their rights stripped away, their friends discriminated against, their world destroyed by climate change and war. They worry about hatred and bigotry and the divisiveness that has gripped our nation. Yet despite their fears,the overriding them is one of hope, love and unity.

Their words are wise and powerful. Here’s hoping that those chosen to lead our country will listen to what our youth have to say.

NOTE: All proceeds are being donated to Rock the Vote, an organization that fosters youth involvement in politics.

We Are Absolutely Not Okay (Produced in conjunction with educator Marjie Bowker)

Imagine being asked to pull a gun on a stranger. Or having a gun shoved in your face by the man you call stepdad. Envision feeling so depressed you cut yourself repeatedly or down a bottle of pills to make the pain go away. Consider what it takes to tell your parents that you are transgender, or what it feels like to have the dad you love addicted to meth.

We Are Absolutely Not Okay is a collection of true stories written by fourteen teenagers who have experienced life at its darkest but have made it through and are now picking up the pieces. By writing and sharing their stories, they are coping with their past and seizing their future. They are also reaching out to other teenagers—to let them know that they are not alone and that even if their life now is Absolutely Not Okay, they have the power within themselves to make it better.

You’ve Got It All Wrong (Produced in conjunction with Educator Marjie Bowker)

Labels can hurt and destroy—as the teen authors of this powerful true story collection know all too well. But are they true? Would you still think the same if you knew the challenges and circumstances these “labeled” teens have faced?

In You’ve Got It All Wrong, twenty-one teenagers take readers into their lives as they struggle with homelessness, abandonment, death, addiction, abuse, and peer pressure. By revisiting their past and sharing their stories, these high school students are taking charge of their futures in a positive, powerful way. They are also reaching out to other teens to remind them that they aren’t alone and that labels do not define who they are.

Behind Closed Doors: Stories From the Inside Out (Produced in conjunction with Educator Marjie Bowker)

Behind Closed Doors is a true story collection by Seattle area high school students that explores painful secrets: addiction, incarceration, sexual identity, broken families, abuse, poverty, and death.

By giving readers an inside look at the life struggles they’ve faced, these students are closing the door on painful pasts and opening doors to hope and happiness. Through their personal narratives, they are also reaching out to other teenagers to let them know they are not alone and that life gets better.

Through Our Eyes: In Black and White (Produced in conjunction with Educator Cassie Cox)

Everybody has a story. Abuse. Addiction. Sexual identity. Suicide. Death. Broken Homes…. These belong to us. We often see each other in black and white-without digging below the surface to understand the painful struggles and unbearable life circumstances that drive decisions and shape us as individuals. In Through Our Eyes, our high school class has come together to share our painful trials as we see them. In doing so, we hope to show a truer, deeper side of ourselves and connect with others dealing with similar struggles. We wrote these stories to help cope with our pasts so we can move beyond them, and hope they help you confront your past, too. Don’t be afraid to tell your story. Everyone has a history; yours makes you who you are.

We Hope You Rise Up (Produced in conjunction with Educator Marjie Bowker)

Many people aren’t aware of the challenges that teenagers are forced to deal with these days. We hope to change that. Following the nationally recognized We Are Absolutely Not Okay, You’ve Got It All Wrong and Behind Closed Doors comes the fourth collection of true stories from Scriber students – and this time we are rising up. We have all gained strength and perspective from our experiences with abuse, abandonment, drug addiction and the loss of loved ones. But we haven’t given up hope for better days.

Unexpected Strength (Produced in conjunction with educator Cassie Cox)

Unexpected Strength is a glimpse inside the lives of twelve students from Two Rivers High School. It features true and emotionally raw stories about their struggles with abuse, addiction, anxiety, sexual identity and abandonment, and about finding the strength deep within themselves to persevere and move forward with their lives.

Through the writing and sharing process, they’ve discovered that they are not alone. They’ve learned that we all fight our own unseen battles, all struggle with something hard. But that inside every one of us is…Unexpected Strength.