A review by caseythecanadianlesbrarian
Blood, Marriage, Wine, & Glitter by S. Bear Bergman

5.0

I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of well-written, down-to-earth essays, mostly about expanding and reclaiming the term family. There were some really moving pieces about his son, husband, friends, family of origin, religious community, ex-lovers, and everyone else Bear has claimed for family. Although the book does address some tough issues, over all it's pretty heart-warming. I think this quality can't be understated, as cheesy as it might sound. Bear writes about being taught by society that people like him, ("fat or queer or trans or unrepentantly nerdy or polyamourous") don't get families. This collection pretty much unilaterally proves that pervasive myth wrong.
The book is also unabashedly written for queer and/or trans people as readers, which is something I don't take for granted. It's not explaining queer and trans lives to everyone else, it's written with us in mind.
This is Bear's strongest book yet.