Our Life, Our Experiences
“We lost a generation to AIDS. For many who came out in the ’80s and ’90s, grief
shaped our twenties. Then years later, parents start dying and it reopens things you didn’t expect. Younger queer folks don’t always get to see what their own future might look like because those elders aren’t around—or aren’t visible. That’s why spaces like Outstanding Life matter: we’re here, still living, still laughing, still building community.”
—Robert Lee, OsL Board member/Banned Book leader, explains why OutstandingLife is so important. (click for entire story)
“Back in the ’80s, there was a big risk if a mother was identified as a lesbian—you
could lose your kids.”
—Alice Fisher describes her activist journey to becoming a co-founder of OustandingLife. (click for entire story)
“Being an older trans person, just transitioning, there was nothing out there. So, to
talk with Amy [the program director] and others, to know there might be a place
for older trans folks to gather, it was huge. It made me feel less alone.”
—Carla, a transgender woman who discovered Outstanding Life at a conference. (click for entire story)
“The reason I really like being involved is because I moved to a new community
and hadn’t met a lot of LGBTQ folks. It's a heterosexual world. That's the world I
live in. That's the world we all live in. And I just feel like I don't belong much of
the time. And OutstandingLife gives me a place where I feel like I fit.”
—Nina, who lives in Maine, found OutstandingLife through Facebook.(click for entire story)
“For someone like me, OutstandingLife makes you realize very quickly that you’re
not alone. You come to a group and suddenly the isolation lifts.”
— Alejandro Marcel lived in a Cape Cod nursing home, where he had friends and
attended a transgender support group. When he relocated, those connections fell
away. Read why OutstandingLife matters so much to him. (click for entire story)