October is queer history month, and in a time where queer books are being banned left and right simply for being about queer people, queer stories are more important than ever. Just like Black people and Latine individuals, queer people have always lived in conservative areas. Atlanta is historically the equivalent of Mecca for Southern Queers. Country queers carve out a space for ourselves and build a culture much the way city queers do. And here I have the books to prove it. Ten, to be exact, all memoirs or essay collections or historical books about what it’s like to grow up queer in areas that may not be the friendliest to us. We’re here, we’re queer, and lord willing and the crick don’t rise, we’re here to stay. If you’re itching to read more memoirs, I have a list of 8 more queer memoirs, but if you’re looking for memoirs of a different sort our memoir tag is full of types from Indigenous memoirs to tell-alls from sex workers.
