Are You Two Sisters?: The Journey of a Lesbian Couple

Description

Authored by one of the most respected figures in the field of personal ethnographic narrative, this book serves as both a memoir and a sociological study, telling the story of one lesbian couple’s lifelong journey together. Are You Two Sisters? is Susan Krieger’s candid, revealing, and engrossing memoir about the intimacies of a lesbian couple. Krieger explores how she and her partner confront both the inner challenges of their relationship and the invisibility of lesbian identity in the larger world. Using a lively novelistic and autoethnographic approach that toggles back and forth in time, Krieger reflects on the evolution of her forty-year relationship. She describes building a life together, from sharing pets and travels to getting married. Are You Two Sisters? addresses not only questions of gender and sexuality, but also of disability, as Krieger explores how the couple adapts to her increasing blindness. Krieger’s title comes from a question asked by a stranger outside a remote desert bar as she and her partner traveled in the Southwest. Her apprehension about answering that question suggests how, even after the legalization of gay marriage, lesbianism often remains hidden—an observation that makes Krieger’s poignant narrative all the more moving. Contents Preface Introduction Part I: Formalities of Attachment 1. Our Marriage Day 2. Down the Coast Part II: Our Formative Years 3. Early Memories 4. The Pull of the Past 5. Moving In Part III: The Sweep of Time 6. On the Road Again 7. In the Winter Desert 8. Katie 9. Attending a Wedding 10. Therapy Part IV: Who We Are 11. Are You Two Sisters? 12. Private Moments 13. Careful Steps 14. Border Patrol 15. Looking Back Afterword: On Writing Are You Two Sisters? Bibliographic Notes