Queereaders discussion

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share something personal. I’ve been closeted for most of my life, carrying myself like a burden.

Recently, I read The Fives’ Oath – Legacy of the Bloodborn by Mehdi Mejri, and for the first time, I felt truly seen in a fantasy story. The way it handles love, identity, and struggle helped me begin to look at myself with more kindness. I’m slowly learning how to love myself, and that’s a big step for me.

It made me wonder: have you ever read a book that shifted your perspective on who you are, or gave you the courage to accept yourself a little more?

I’d really love to hear your stories and maybe discover new reads along the way.

MJ

I’m glad to hear you’re learning to love yourself. There’s nothing for us to be ashamed of in how we were born or in the different ways our desires show up. 🌈

The book that changed me most in my life is You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay. I recommend it with all my heart. It’s not about sexual preferences as such, but it is very much about self-love and the power we have to deepen it. 📚

It’s one of those books worth revisiting at different points in life. Written back in the 80s, long before self-improvement became trendy, and yet it’s as relevant today as it was then. Timeless, like proper wisdom always is. ✨You Can Heal Your Life

Thank you so much for your words and for recommending, You Can Heal Your Life truly sounds fascinating. I’ll definitely add it to my list.

In that same spirit of healing and embracing who we are, I also recommend you The Fives’ Oath – Legacy of the Bloodborn. I honestly think it’s an important book for our community, because it reflects so much of what many of us go through in learning to love ourselves.

I’d encourage you to give it a try, I found it really meaningful and believe others here might as well.

Now it's on my list :) Thank you

Oz and MJ, thank you for sharing those books, I have added them both to my list. I think this is a beautiful idea for a discussion board and I’m excited to see what other recommendations come about.

I do have a book that changed my life, but it isn’t a book that I read, it’s a book that I wrote. The topic ‘Books that Helped Us See Ourselves’ really hit home for me because for the last three years, I thought I was writing in order to help others heal from their past, but in reality, I was writing to heal myself.

Also on the topic of self love, The Four Agreements was a book that helped me reconnect with myself and find my inner peace. It is a short read but a powerful one. It helped me to not only silence my inner critic (still a work in progress, but one day at a time) but to also stop carrying the weight of other’s expectations which I think is a big part of finding who YOU are. Not who others want you to be. I definitely recommend it !

First of all, it is an honour that my book intrigued you and that there is a chance you might even read it, and I cannot wait to hear what you think of it. 🌹

Second, you cannot imagine how envious I am when I read that a book helped you make a shift in your mind. Since Louise Hay at nineteen I have never truly managed to internalise what, in your Buddhist phrasing, is the four noble truths. Out of all the countless books I have read on self love, living in the moment, or self improvement in general, none managed to stick. Funny enough, only yesterday I was reminiscing about the time I lived by the film The Secret and how that film did something to an entire generation. But years of self work, Zen studies, practice and meditation here and there, the endless attempt to find something that would actually help me shift consciousness and simply live in the moment, all of it kept me searching. 📖

How wonderful for you that your mind is moving in a brighter direction. 🌈The Secret

Hi Jessi,

Thank you so much for sharing this, it’s truly an honor to have you take part in this conversation. I love how you describe the healing that came through writing your own book, that’s incredibly powerful, and it resonates deeply.

Recently, one of the things that has often made me angry in both literature and media is how queerness gets reduced to nothing but lust, like 80% of the time there’s no real arc, no story, nothing.

Sometimes it even feels insulting, because people live through real pain and survival every single day, and yet their depth is brushed aside.

That’s why when I read The Fives’ Oath I was blown away. I actually cried, because of the overwhelming respect the author gave to all of his heroes; no exceptions. There’s one in particular (I won’t spoil it) that truly made me feel seen, and want to be seen.

That's the power of real literature, and I am so glad that we are all sharing power together.

I could not agree more. All my life I have been searching for heroes and figures who might show me what it means to be gay, aside from and perhaps because of the element of constant lust and appetite, the relentless chase after sex and touch. And how easily available it all seems to be. 🌈

From the responses I have read by people who finished my book "Through the Flesh", it sounds like you would enjoy it too. It would be an honour if you added it to your reading list. 📚Through the Flesh

Done. It will be my pleasure to read Through the Flesh, and I’ll be sure to leave a review too.

I also really hope you’ll take a look at The Fives’ Oath and share your thoughts — I’d love to finally discuss it with someone else who’s read it. I think it has so much to offer our community, and it would be amazing to exchange perspectives with you on both books.

It's already on my list. Btw have you seen the movie English Man in New York?

I recommend you to ask GPT about it and the biography behind it. Just added to my list too

I will, thank you for the recommendation.

Enjoy :)

Oz, that was very deep. It sounds like you already have made a conscious shift, so may I ask why you say you’re still searching ? Have you tried meditation ?
I also read the description of your book and am very interested. From what it seems, you’re a fighter and survivor yourself, and I would love to read your story.

MJ, i absolutely understand what you’re saying and i totally agree. Like a kick ass story that everyone can relate to, and the main character just happens to be queer. Not a movie about their queerness but instead some representation of how anybody can be a hero or a main character no matter how they identify. Is that right ?
Also, you have me very interested in The Five’s Oath now.

Hi Jessi,

You’re absolutely right, that’s exactly it. That kind of representation is so rare, and when it’s done with honesty and respect, it’s transformative. And I swear to you, I never thought I would feel what I felt when I finished The Fives’ Oath.

It was like a revelation, I even asked myself, is this book real!

Milena and Margarete: A Love Story in Ravensbrück by Gwen Strauss tells what happens when Love dare not speak its name.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Through the FleshHi Jessi 🌈

You are sharp and right. I noticed as I was writing my reply that I contradicted myself a little.

I did manage to make a shift in my mind back at nineteen and again a little around some unusual moments in my life (you are welcome to read about them in my book) 📖 but the bigger change, living in the moment and avoiding extra suffering in line with the Buddhist view, feels light years away from me.

No tattoo I carved into my skin as a reminder has helped 🖤 I still hope that one day I will rise to a new stage in my spiritual growth. ✨

The description reminds me of my book. Thanks for sharing, have added to my list. Through the Flesh

For me it was always about finding a mirror that does not flatter but tells the truth 🌒
Books that dared to speak in a raw voice gave me the courage to face myself.

Jean Genet whispered to me that shame can become art 🌹
James Baldwin taught me that desire and pain are not enemies but siblings.

And somewhere along the way I began writing my own story 📖
Through the Flesh is not only a book but also the mirror I could not find elsewhere. Sometimes feral, sometimes tender, always unfiltered.

Curious to know which books gave you that same recognition ✨Through the Flesh

Hi!
Books that I have felt seen are "A Dark and Drowning Tide" and " A Place of Our Own: Six Spaces That Shaped Queer Women's Culture"

The first read taught that you deserve to be loved and that you shouldn't fight against it.

The latter is a nonfiction, the audiobook is read by the author. Stories about queer perseverance and happiness never fail to bring tears to my eyes.

Richard wrote: "Milena and Margarete: A Love Story in Ravensbrück by Gwen Strauss tells what happens when Lo..."

Following on literature about Milena: I really enjoyed this book:
I am Milena from Praga, by Monika Zgustová
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

On my personal quest to find myself from hetero to bi throu the less clear flexible / curious tags, I found this book and the aurhor's videos and interviews very useful:

Bi: The Hidden Culture, History, and Science of Bisexuality, by Julia Shaw
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...