I recently met Elena through a coaching program we are both in and I immediately knew I wanted to ask her to come on the show.  She has an incredible story that she shares so generously.  And her message is of the utmost importance.

- Sara Dean

Pride and Joy Foundation founder, Elena Joy Thurston recently had a chat with Sara Dean on The Shameless Mom Academy podcast. In the episode entitled, 'Living Out Loud After Enduring Life-Threatening Conversion Therapy', Elena Joy shared her about coming out and ultimately owning her sexuality.

Listen in to hear Elena Joy talk to Sara Dean about: 

1. Her journey through marriage in the Mormon church, to growing a family of 4 children, to realizing she had built a life that was not true to who she was

2. Her experience of coming out as a lesbian as a Mormon mom of 4

3. How Mormonism encouraged Elena to disconnect from her body

4. How she was able to give up control over her body and actually step into her...

The following is the transcript of our "Conversations That Create Change" episode with Ramona Galey.  We discussed body image issues that are common to women and especially lesbians and queer women.  

Ramona is a body image coach who works with women within the Law of Attraction framework.  She figured out how to align and lose 60 pounds at the age of 59, healed a back injury at 60, and is now releasing her Hashimoto's condition.  As you will see in the video, Ramona is a remarkable person!

You can find our other Conversations That Create Change here.  

- Now we're recording. So, we will have questions at the end and please feel free. Like, you guys are giving up time to be here tonight, so you don't have to rely on the replay. Everyone else will. So, any question you have, like, please put it out there. If anything we say doesn't quite make sense, or if it just inspires a question within you, this is the time. Let's talk about it. So I met...

I am battling my own ghost.  How do you fight yourself?  You know all your best moves.  You know how she’ll react to any given situation.  And when you emerge the victor, have you actually won?  Because you just trashed yourself.

My ghost is beating me right now.  My 18-year-old son and I went on a walk last night.  He leaves for college in two days and I wanted his opinion on how to handle a situation with his 12-year-old sister.  We’re not communicating well and I can’t figure out how to fix it.  With four kids in total, I needed help.

“It sounds familiar, Mom,” he said.  “I think she’s at the point where I was just a few years ago.  I didn’t know how to communicate with you in a straightforward way.  I felt like I had to strategize and plan so that I wouldn’t get in trouble.  I think she hasn’t learned she doesn’t have to do that anymore.”

4...

Editor's Note:   On September 22, 2017, Sarah Hegazi attended a concert for Mashrou' Leila whose lead singer, Hamed Sinno, is openly gay. She was arrested along with a group of others for waving a rainbow flag in support of LGBT rights. Her arrest coincided with Egypt's zero-tolerance crackdown response to end public support for LGBT rights in the country.  She recalled being jailed, beaten, and abused by inmates. 

Sarah (Zarah) was granted asylum in Canada but lived with the PTSD from her experience.  

“To my siblings,

I tried to survive and I failed, forgive me.

To my friends,

The experience was cruel and I’m too weak

to resist it, forgive me.

To the world,

You were awfully cruel, but I forgive.”

This is the last note left behind by Zarah Hijazi, an Egyptian LGBTQ rights activist who committed suicide last week in Canada. She was raped and tortured in the prison by the US-backed Sisi government for her...

Editor's Note: I met Sheena with The Lesbian Review when I did a podcast series with her "Ask a Conversion Therapy Survivor".  During the show, it became obvious that I had no idea there was an entire genre of literature based on women loving women.  (baby gay, right here).  I realized I was really missing out and I asked Sheena to give us a list of the best intro books.  I've finished one of these on the list and I've already started on my second.  I have to say, I rarely read fiction (self-growth junkie) but these fun books are so fun and so relaxing to dive into.  I am SO glad I found Sheena and The Lesbian Review.  

The Lesbian Review brings you a selection of 3 Coming Of Age Stories To Make Your WLW Heart Happy.

These are three novels that we enjoyed tremendously and recommend to readers who are looking for women loving women books.

Floodtide by Heather Rose Jones

 The streets are a perilous place for a...

Q: How does a woman who doesn't realize she's a lesbian, woo another woman who doesn't realize she's attracted to women either? Or how does a presumably straight woman entice another presumably straight woman?

A:  Just like any woo-ing, it's all about the humor.  We all know that laughter is the predecessor to love, regardless of gender and sexuality.

Early in our relationship, before the fateful first kiss, all I knew is that I wanted her to look at me, talk to me, laugh at my jokes.  Her laughter, you guys!  It was like the best buzz on earth, making her smile and laugh at me.  

It was a few weeks in that I finally realized how big basketball is/was in her life.  She had played all through childhood.  By high school, she was on traveling club teams in addition to her school team.  She received multiple college offers and it paid her way through her bachelor's degree.  

But I was in trouble with this realization.  I...