A Gift of Age: Old Lesbian Life Stories

by Arden Eversmeyer, Margaret Purcell

Collection of biographies from lesbians based on interviews taken for the Old Lesbian Oral Herstory Project.

Genres: LGBT, Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Yeva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though I've just received this book, I cannot put it down. It's absolutely lovely, and makes me proud to be a part of lesbian herstory.

[Laurel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these essential stories. My parents have always been of the opinion that "there are more gays now than before" and that it's a result of the world's corruption. Most traditional Christians are of the same opinion. That is why it's so essential to tell the stories of people who WOULD have been open if they felt safe, if it was legal, if they didn't face shame from family, if they didn't risk losing jobs and housing, just for being authentic. The stories are out there, and they need to be told. We're here, we're queer, we've always been here, we've always been queer.

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love to read women's coming out stories.

[Kailey Morand · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love everything about this! Looking forward to Without Apology.

[Sharon Raphael · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Gift of Age will grab you. Each story is a separate adventure and all the Lesbians interviewed have fascinating and productive lives. It has been a while since I read the book but figure I need to go back again again and refresh my memory of sisters who had the strength to endure and thrive in homophobic times. Not that anything has changed so extremely much but still the fifties and forties were very difficult times for Lesbians trying to find a place in the world. I look forward to new volumes of the book which will be forthcoming. Looking back and summing up is always and important enterprise and Arden Eversmeyer has made an important contribution to our (Lesbian) herstory by conducting and presenting these interviews with the help of Margaret Purcell.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book tells the life stories of many women growing up in the early 1900s. The women are also gay and they share their stories of coming out and feeling different than everyone else.
Knowing that the stories were taken from question/answer oral interviews, I can understand that it must have been difficult to transfer to a story format. Some of the storylines seemed awkwardly pieced together.
Overall, I think it is a great way to capture glimpses of what life was like for these women. Some were accepted for who they were, others chastised. Some stories talk about therapy, others about bar raids. Most of all, you come away feeling that you need to be who you are in order to be happy in life.

[Dr Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book of old lesbians' personal history. No one has ever documented this history in this personal style. It is fun to see the similarities and differences. I know Eversmeyer and she drove all over the country, visiting these people and documenting their lives. There is nothing like hands-on. I did not know what to expect, but I read it in one sitting. These women made lives even with the prejudice, had great jobs, and got on with living in spite of it all. Fascinating.