If you’ve ever been curious to get inside the head of a lesbian, to be one for the space between the covers, this literary romance is your chance.In the early 2000s, Kirsten Hansen is a femme, twenty-something writer living in San Francisco with her partner, Soraya, a therapist who barely escaped war-torn Afghanistan as a child in the time of the Russian occupation. Conflicts begin on page one, as Soraya announces she would like to have a baby just as Kirsten realizes she may not want to stay in their relationship. Punctuated by arguments in razor sharp dialogue, Kirsten's internal narrative of guilt, betrayal and often humor unfolds as she goes about haphazardly dismantling her relationship with Soraya while not-so-secretly plunging into an online search for love.The book bounces back and forth from Kirsten’s tween and teenage years in the 1980s as a nerdy, introspective “preacher’s kid” in Iowa. There, young Kirsten longs for adventure, and even more so, for a fellow explorer worthy of her boundless imagination. One day, when she wanders through the woods to the neighboring farm, she discovers a tree house and its owner, a girl only a year older than she, smart, athletic, “girl next door,” Erin Tulley. Here, their journey—and the love of Kirsten's life—begins. With innocent voice and evocative prose, Kirsten comes to understand the nature of her love for Erin and its lack of acceptance in their evangelical Christian America. At last, in high school, Kirsten makes a pivotal decision and loses Erin because of it. Twenty-something Kirsten wonders: Is Erin still out there missing her, too? Or should she make a life with Soraya? Is there a third option, maybe the intriguing Taggart she has just met online? Mistrust mounts in all relationships as Kirsten ponders the question of fate versus free will in her own life and the strength found only in letting go of its answer in others'. There are many compelling gay and lesbian experiences—from Christian to Muslim to atheist—that are stories yet untold: The quest to find an equal "Other," the struggle from love into deep friendship, the beauty and growth that can come when two opposing cultures meet, and the persistent exercise of hope throughout our lives. Other Women is one of these great, universal stories…that just happens to be LGBTQ.
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