Customer Reviews

And Then I Met This Woman: Previously Married Women's Journeys into Lesbian Relationships

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There aren't enough books on this subject which is why I'm glad this book exists. If you are in this situation yourself, just reading as many other women's stories as you can will help you feel less alone. The authors seem to have taken care to paraphrase as little as possible and keep the accounts in the women's own words; however, this makes the book difficult to read because the sentence structures are not always as clear as they could be. I think some additional editing for readability would have really helped.

While reading the stories I was disappointed that the book was not helping me answer many of the questions I had about switching from one sexual preference to another. To be fair to the authors, they did not set out to analyze these women's stories, only to share them. Most of the women recounted events in their life but don't offer up any thoughtful remarks on why they did certain things or how they were feeling at the time. I was hoping some of the women would share their thoughts on questions I have such as, were women like us born gay and just didn't realize it? or did something change along the way?

If you are looking for a little more psychological insight into how to deal with your situation then I strongly recommend you get the book "Unexpected Pleasures" by Tamsin Wilton (also available through Amazon) instead of this book. It includes nearly as many stories, but with more commentary on recurrent themes and advice on how to make the transition easier.

When I picked up this book, I was out shopping with my first lesbian lover. I was nervous and thinking "These women won't be anything like me." I was never more wrong. There were quite a few women in this book that were going through situations almost identical to mine. Coming out is hard enough, but coming out when you are married is even harder. It was easier to explain to my husband and family, including my children after reading this book. I would reccommend this book to anyone that is having trouble coming out, or for those that have had someone they love discover that they are indeed a lesbian.

These are the remarkable stories of women whose lives have been transformed by intimancy with another woman. Many had lived a very traditional, heterosexual life up until that point - whenever it was - and made a conscious decision to change.

The women in these stories are mostly middle-class and represent diverse occupations: an oncology nurse, a minister, an English professor, a topless dancer-turned-beautician, a computer programmer, a florist, a nurse anesthetist, teachers and counselors. Many are highly educated, six with masters' degrees and with four with Ph.D.s. They range in age from 27 to 65 and some have been married more than 20 years.

Of the 36 women who tell their stories here, not one regrets her decision to change her sexuality - and her life. For many, making the transition from heterosexual wifehood to lesbianism was like "coming home," and they wouldn't even consider going back. -- from book's back cover

I was disappointed in this book for several reasons. The sentences were choppy and the stories lacked realism--they didn't bring me close to the people the way other similar anthologies have. Then, the majority of the stories were about women who were marrying in the 40's, 50's, and 60's. As a 29 year old woman, I've been wondering why it's so hard to find the stories of younger women. I skimmed most of the book and don't see myself picking it back up any time soon.