Invisible Lives: The Truth About Millions of Women-Loving Women

by Martha Barron Barrett

Profiles the great numbers of gay women in America, a group that has remained largely unseen, discussing the experiences of more than 120 women nationwide

Genres: LGBT, Nonfiction, History

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Growing up in a 1930's suburb of woods and fields outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, independence--and reading--came easily. After graduation from Mt. Lebanon High School, Martha attended the University of Maine at Orono. She studied history and government--an interest she continued by earning a master's degree in international relations from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia while teaching at the Charles E. Ellis School for Girls.

Her passion for writing has remained constant. Feature articles in Yankee Magazine, about sardine fishing and blueberry harvesting, were her first nationally published works. Two successful novels and a nonfiction book followed, as well as years as a newspaper columnist for Portsmouth Magazine and the Ellsworth American in Maine. She taught creative writing courses for adults for twenty years at the University of New Hampshire: as a visiting professor at the University of Washington, Spokane and at numerous conferences, including Molasses Pond in Maine and New Hampshire.

Martha was married in 1954 and raised two sons and a daughter; her family now numbers fourteen. Her home is with her partner, Sandy, and cat. Schoodic, on the far downeast coast of Maine, and, when not traveling, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Reviews

[Aidan Giordano · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned some things from this book but it’s definitely outdated and not very diverse at all. But I still appreciated being able to hear stories from lesbians in the early 1900s. Thanks Martha Barron Barrett for puttin this together.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was, to be fair, an 'out of date' look at the lives of lesbians in American culture. (Published in 1990, I think, when things were certainly less public than now) Though it's not 'as bad' now, it was nonetheless a stark reminder of the realities that homosexuals face on a regular basis in their lives--whether to be out or not. I have so much compassion....

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book literally changed my life. I was very young, in a relationship with a man (because I had to be socially acceptable, right?) and this book made me realize that I didn't have to live that lie. I have lived a much happier life because of that decision. So thanks, Martha Barron Barrett... you literally changed the course of my life!

[Kailah Peters · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has reminded me of the importance of representation. I'm sure I know adult lesbians, but I don't know their stories. I didn't know enough about the struggles they went through when being invisible.

This book illuminates the plights and highlights of women loving women in 1987. It is an important read.

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Out of date. Pick something newer if you are trying to learn.

[Katherine Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got this book a long time ago, from a member of the Frederick lesbian community. The book was published in 1990. That was 4 years after I began working in Frederick. I lived in DC while attending law school. I was probably just beginning to participate in events in the lesbian community, organized by the group Pleiades. Pleiades is the group highlighted in chapter 35. I had no idea the book was in the works, but I did know many of the women interviewed.

The book needed some editing, it was hard to follow who the interviewer was speaking to sometimes. But the information in the book is pretty accurate about how lesbians lived at the time.

The book gave me warm feelings.

[Graciela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually went out and searched for this book after reading about it in one of my school books. I LOVE this book. You will find letters and interviews from the women were forced to live their lives invisibly due to their sexual orientation. You will find stories from older women who were forced to marry a man - to a well known gymnast and her girlfriend who intentionally messed one of the beds in their 2 bed hotel room - in order to pretend that both beds were occupied :( I liked reading the stories from different women; young, old, white, black, rich and poor. Its interesting to know that although women differed they all shared the same pain. I highly recommend this book, especially to people who might want to come out or are experiencing struggles regarding their sexual orientation .... And of course anyone who is interested in such issue!

[Mpho3 · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author interviewed 125 women of various ages, ethnicities, attitudes, beliefs and proclivities, to ascertain a good look at "what it is like to be a lesbian in America today." Nearly two decades later, it might read as a bit dated now, but it was an important book to me in 1994. It wasn't written expressly to paint a rosy picture for lesbians. The interviews expressed some good and some bad - but it was realistic, and I remember feeling that it was something that could and should be read by parents, friends, and children of dykes and even the "nonsympathetic," for lack of a better term. Heterosexual, the author once fell into the nonsympathetic category herself, which makes it's objectivity that much more valued.