Karen Heise

Depending on the Light: Writing My Change in Sexual Orientation Karen Heise

Some researchers describe women's sexuality as fluid, changeable, an acceptable condition. But women who cross sexual boundaries experience profound spiritual upheaval and are often singled out by left and right ideologies as simply aberrant. This creative nonfiction work blends narrative, fiction, poetry, journaling, and research and documents one woman's drift into and then out of lesbianism set against the spiritual backdrop of Christianity. Heise chronicles the supernatural processes and paradoxes of change even as she sometimes struggles against it. She weaves in the voices of others who've made the journey away from loving women--even at great cost--and combines genres to make plain one woman's determined voice in the wilderness of female sexuality. Women who seek truth for themselves and their friends, as well as those working in women's studies, LGBT programs, and gender issues will find this work accessible and illuminating.