Why Share Your Story
The goal of our books has always been to inspire closeted gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender public safety professionals to come out and to live their lives in the truth. It is possible to be “out” and to be successful in law enforcement, the fire service, or as an EMS professional. We also hope that the stories in our books will educate our straight colleagues so that they will become allies for our community.
Everyone has a story, so what’s yours? What did you struggle with on the job? Did you face discrimination? Are you still unable to come out? How did you come out to your colleagues? What’s the funniest memory you have related to being LGBT on the job? We are looking for stories of all kinds to share on this website and in future publications. The power of our work comes from your story – one that other professionals can identify with and see themselves in. We need your advice and expertise to help other law enforcement officers, firefighters, and EMS professionals with their own personal and often difficult struggles.
Ways To Share Your Story
There are two ways you can share your story. The first way is to submit a short story (2000 words or less) that we will share immediately on this website. All you have to do is fill out the form below, cut and paste your story into the text box provided, and you are done. The story you share doesn’t have to be about coming out. It can be about anything related to being LGBT and working in a public safety profession. There are a few guidelines that we ask you to consider as you write.
- Our audience includes everyone, young readers, and your mother. Please do not use profanity or share graphic recollections of sexual experiences.
- You don’t have to use your real name and you should consider respecting the privacy of others. Names are not important, just tell the story.
- Be creative – this isn’t a police report – so make it more than “just the facts ma’am.”
- Think beyond your coming out story and consider other important moments in your life at work. They can be serious, funny, happy, or sad. What matters is that it was an important point in your life.
- Think Nike and “Just Do It!” If the story is on your mind, write it and submit it now or set yourself a deadline. Otherwise, trust me, you’ll never get to it.
- Pictures can connect a reader to a story. If you have a picture of you that you would like to have posted with your story, submit it with your story below.
Any member of law enforcement (civilian or sworn), corrections personnel, the fire service, or an emergency medical professional may participate.
Now, if you have read our books and want to share a more extensive story like the ones you read, you can still do that too. You can write as much as you like starting with any point in your life you feel is the best place to begin your story. Consider the guidelines listed above. You can submit your story in an MS Word compatible format. Be sure to double-space and use a 12-pitch font. Once you are ready to submit the story, fill out the form below and just note in the text box that you have an attachment to send. We will email you to make arrangements for submitting your story.
You do not have to be an experienced author to be part of this book. If you do not want to write your full story, we can interview you online so that all you have to do is respond to a series of questions that can usually be answered in one paragraph. Click Here for an online interview.
A new and exciting way to share your story is to make a video! You can simply tell your story on video and upload it to YouTube and then send us the link using the form and text box below. We will incorporate your video right here on this site. Again, be creative and have fun with it!
