You're Not from Around Here, Are You?: A Lesbian in Small-Town America

by Louise A. Blum

This is a funny, moving story about life in a small town, from the point of view of a pregnant lesbian. Louise A. Blum, author of the critically acclaimed novel Amnesty , now tells the story of her own life and her decision to be out, loud, and pregnant. Mixing humor with memorable prose, Blum recounts how a quiet, conservative town in an impoverished stretch of Appalachia reacts as she and a local woman, Connie, fall in love, move in together, and determine to live their life together openly and truthfully.
    The town responds in radically different ways to the couple’s presence, from prayer vigils on the village green to a feature article in the family section of the local newspaper. This is a cautionary, wise, and celebratory tale about what it’s like to be different in America—both the good and the bad. A depiction of small town life with all its comforts and its terrors, this memoir speaks to anyone who has ever felt like an outsider in America. Blum tells her story with a razor wit and deft precision, a story about two "girls with grit," and the child they decide to raise, right where they are, in small town America.

Genres: Nonfiction, LGBT, Memoir, Queer, Lesbian, Biography, Biography Memoir

272 pages, Paperback

First published March 13, 2001

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have endurance as a reader. This book was a double marathon. As much as I want to promote and support lesbian writers and other realms of life, books like this make it incredibly hard.
I wanted it to be a book with stories about gays and lesbians living in a small town. Instead I got some pregnancy story that bored me to tears. I never skip parts of books and as soon as anything had to do with reproduction I was skipping like a school girl playing double dutch.
One star for the energy put into writing it, another star for the revolution.

[Jessica Jacobs · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book about a lesbian couple living in "God Country" and trying to conceive in the late 90's. The story winds through Louise and Connie's experiences from coming out to raising their daughter. Along the way Blum competently portrays the everyday struggle that it is to be gay. This autobiography reads like an eloquent novel. The writing and imagery are beautiful and add to the emotional importance of the story.

[Allan Dunn jr]

I had the authors sister as a professor and the book was amazingly good at describing the inequalities the LGBT community faces.

[Casey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Blum’s writing is good, and she has a story to teĺl. This is like a memoir of Blum’s coming out story. She has a story to tell, the world needs to hear it. What could go wrong? This! Blum’s writing is good individually, on a chapter to chapter basis, but added together, each chapter sounds identical to the next. Someone either rejects her and her partner or they champion something. That part vacillates. The rest is whiny. Oh my god we’re not pregnant yet, but do I even want to be pregnant? Every single chapter. It's SO REPETITIVE! AND BORING!! 

So as a classroom study yes. Like read a chapter and discuss- although in retrospect that would likely get boring too. 

Strong points: she’s brave enough to write about being gay back in 2000. 

I’m sure it wasn’t easy to live, but we also deserve to read a book that makes us WANT to read. A book that positions the main character as a multidimensional real person where we can SEE and resonate with her fears and experiences instead of being turned off by the boredom of, "I really don't want to hear her whiny voice anymore."

DNF 

Recommended use: sadly as a door stop, as a cautionary tale on how not to bore people.

[Megan · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is terrible. The subtitle is "A Lesbian in Small Town America," and so you might rightfully think it's a memoir about the difficulties of being lesbian in a small town in "Pennsyltucky." The book is maybe 20% about being a lesbian and the other 80% is a very boring very long recount of getting pregnant via IVF, being pregnant, and eventually, having a child. The author is overly dramatic about everything. All pregnant women have worries and concerns, but hers are ever present.
She wrote in one really bad sort of sex scene. Like her publishers said, "You really need to include something about sex," so she did, but reluctantly.
Also, she wrote this in an actual book: "Outside the air was damp and heavy, as if the whole neighborhood were a moist vagina." This is not offensive because of the words used, it is offensive for how horrible the writing is.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read, I tore through this book for days at a time instead of hours (so hopefully that shows my interest in it). For the second half of the text, she includes more dry and sarcastic humor which put me off. Overall their story gave me some more insight into their experience as a same-sex couple trying to start a family. In my experience, I have yet to see a family like this and have only ever heard of it happening.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was okay. A bit dated, since it took place during the (Bill) Clinton era, but still relatable in parts. The first half, where she talked more about what it was like to be gay and out in a small, Conservative town, was stronger than the 2nd half where she talked about her pregnancy.

[Kelsey Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful and optimistic yet clearly real representation of lesbian culture. I had no idea how many of the things happening in the book were still happening as late as the 90s, and Louise and Connie’s reactions are always nothing short of inspiring.

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blum has a great sense of humor. Very enjoyable.

[Halley · Rating 5 out of 5]

To me, a great read. A very interesting perspective into life in small town America, especially from a queer woman's POV.

[Gina Christo · Rating 4 out of 5]

These days it’s easy to forget how hard queer people fought to exist and have families. Grateful to have read this acute reminder.

[Shelly Lizotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed but could've been a lot shorter.

[sammy mburu · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is good and it s ok.🙂

[KathyJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sad, funny, ultimately triumphant. I did enjoy this memoir of Ms. Blum's experiences, with her partner, of conceiving, carrying and giving birth to her daughter, while living and teaching in a small, poor Appalachian town. As in all small towns, the residents cross the spectrum from loving, supportive and willing to grown to that minority that is small-minded and judgmental. Not sure that I would have stayed put and endured, but I salute the author and her life partner and their wonderful daughter for doing so. An entertaining read.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just a beautifully written memoir about a young family just trying to make their way in small town America in the mid-90's. The fact that it is a lesbian couple makes the story even richer thanks to the author's honesty. So many emotions as I read this book! A wonderful & compelling read. I just wish there was a sequel...I miss them already!

[Kristi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really loved this book. Having attended a college in a small town that was less than gay friendly, I can relate to their experiences trying to build a life as a couple when it seems the odds are against you. I thing Blum writes eloquently with humor and class.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just emotions I felt while reading this:
sadness. sympathy. anger [at others, not at her]. indignation. compassion.

Hard hard stuff, but I appreciated the open and honest perspective.