Heather King

Sometimes trauma won't let you write And thoughts on fear and starting over

open.substack.com/pub/kingh/p/...

Sword Crossed- Freya Marske
It Takes Two To Tumble
A Gentleman Never Keeps Score
The Soliders Scoundrel- Cat Sebatian
Pride & Prejudice & Pittsburgh- Rachael Lippincott

Here are a few of my favorites that I read this year:
Band Sinister- KJ Charles
A Gentleman's Gentleman- TJ Alexander
Don't Want You Like a Best Friend
You're the Problem, It's You- Emma R. Alban
Gwen & Art Are Not In Love
Trouble- Lex Croucher
Most Ardently Yours- Gabe Cole Nova

Queer people have always been here and found ways to thrive and write their own stories.

I'm so glad that the world of historical romance has grown and expanded to include all the vibrant and different ways that love can look like. What a joy to get to read the book that I would have loved and been affirmed by as a kid.

Historical romance has my whole heart and was where I fell in love with reading. I picked up my first Jane Austen novel decades ago, and decided I wanted to live in a world of opinionated women and forearms (IYKYK) and happily ever after's.

Here are some homeschool alumni writers to follow! They're doing important work.

@abbinye.bsky.social

@homeiswherethehatredis.com

@fennicknym.bsky.social

@tialevingswriter.bsky.social

@caitwest.bsky.social

@heathercking.bsky.social

@elenatrueba.bsky.social

@dlmayfield.bsky.social

Homeschool chat and gay trending together feels appropriate 😅😅

This really gets to the heart of it. And ppl are always SHOCKED at how legal it is.

It’s what I missed when twitter became the bad place and I’m so happy to have this space to connect and share again!

Talking about my story. Connecting with other survivors. Staying silent almost destroyed me and there is so much collective power and healing in sharing what we went through. #HomeschoolChat

A5: Lots of therapy. EMDR saved my life and healed me in ways I couldn’t have imagined. I am medicated and it’s an important part of recovery for me. I pay really close attention to my capacity and honor it. Finding glimmers of joy daily.

A4: Be an adult that kids feel comfortable and safe with. Openly talk about mental health and your own struggles with it. See kids as their own person and validate whatever they’re going through. #HomeschoolChat

A3: Anxiety and depression being openly talked about and normalized. And therapy.(I was an adult before I met anyone who went to therapy.) Having a safe adult I could talk to. Having the freedom to be a kid. Feeing like I had choices. #HomeschoolChat

A2: It wasn’t. I don’t remember ever hearing it talked about. Hard things were either ignored or a sign that you weren’t trying hard enough to be a good Christian. I learned early on to never talk about my mental struggles to the adults around me.
#HomeschoolChat

#HomeschoolChat

I had to grow up very quickly and was burdened with a lot of responsibilities as the oldest in a large family. My education wasn’t the focus of my homeschooling and it created deep insecurities about how I viewed myself. I spent lots of time in imaginary worlds so I wouldn’t leave the one I was in.

A1: Being homeschooled in a strict religious environment had such a major impact on my mental health that I’m still recovering from, decades later. I grew up very isolated from my peers and it made me a really anxious kid who was always trying to find where I belonged.

Heyyyyyy where my homeschool alum at???? See you there!

i don’t understand when my fellow thirtysomethings panic about no longer understanding what the kids like and how they dress. the most perfect serenity ever devised by man or heaven is within reach and you’re pushing it away with both hands

Lord give me strength to scroll past homeschool moms posting where’s my gift during teacher appreciation week 😒😒😒😒😒 ask your husband susan

Teen girls are dying in emergency rooms from pregnancy sepsis because docs won't help them but sure let's invent an imaginary crisis about feminist boy guilt or whatever

Went down a rabbit hole of niche internet drama and homeschool moms are freaking out that the price of their curriculums are about to go up. You love to see it.

What I didn’t need was a perfect solution while I struggled to make it to morning.

I don’t engage with people who have nothing but criticism for harm reduction. It’s never the right or perfect enough solution for them.

You know what I needed as an abused homeschooled kid? Someone to give a damn. A step. A visit. A call. Contact with a mandatory reporter. A law passed. ANYTHING.

A white, cisgender man with a greying ginger beard and mustache standing in front of a white door with grooved panels. He is wearing a green hat with two hands in the shape of Michigan. The hat has an otter pin, as well as a pride flag. He is also wearing clear-framed glasses and a green v-neck shirt.

Today, I’m wearing green for the third annual #DayOfTheHomeschooledChild. I “made it” as a closeted gay homeschooled student.

Not everyone is so lucky.

Nationwide, it’s legal to pull your kids out of school and start homeschooling them at any time, with almost no exceptions.

It’s the #DayoftheHomeschooledChild when we recognize children who were kept away from school only to experience abuse and/or neglect at home.
Some, sadly, did not survive.

Be a #VoiceforReform and speak up for the rights of every child to receive a safe education.

Please follow @responsiblehs.bsky.social so you can be part of the change to make homeschooling safe for all kids. It is run and staffed entirely by homeschool alumni.
“Nothing about us, without us.” (Originally coined by South African disability activists)

I grieve for the children we were who had to grow up too soon. I honor the tenacity and determination that fought for safety and created abundance and care when there was none.