I loved this so much! Being a rural queer myself it felt so good to hear about other peoples experience in a very isolating environment. You know there are people around you that are queer but they are hiding it themselves. I enjoyed the pictures and the interview style writing. I plan on purchasing this book when it comes out! One thing I will say is that there are a bunch of pages missing in this ARC.

emotional informative reflective fast-paced
4.75

This book looks at the lives of queer people of all ages but skewed to older generations. The book looks at people’s individual stories and in the process covers trauma like AIDS pandemic and the impact it had on a generation of queer people. The shows the many different ways it means to be queer. I wish some of the interviews were extended and the book briefly touches on chronic illness and queerness. I would have loved for the book to explore more of this. The book looks at the intersectionality of queerness and race and statehood. The book looks at the beautiful and difficult moments people have faced around their queerness.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia

Boy did reading this feel timey in the same month where Chappell Roan refused to play at the Whitehouse but then got hate from white privileged city queers for touring in red states. As if queers in those states or in country states don't also deserve a connection to culture.

I adored this book, such a beautiful and valuable insight into a different side of the queer community that get's much less attention. I loved how many of the participants were older (40+ but quite a few older as well) - it's so valuable to hear the stories of our elders, particularly considering how few of them there are and how little of that history has been recorded. The few people who touched on the AIDs crisis was very valuable reading.

I think it's also really necessary to shine a light on queer folks whose experiences are very far removed from that of the mainstream city queers we see online and in media because while everything isn't perfect for city folks sometimes we can take for granted the community and privilege our locations can afford us.

The ONLY issue I had with this book (which is not it's fault at all) is that the arc provided to me was missing a huge amount of pages - almost every single person's story seemed to be missing at least one page because their story would just cut off mid-sentence and the next page would be a new person. This was such a huge disappointment, I know arcs aren't perfect but to be missing so many pages seems like they didn't even proofread it before putting it up for request.

Thank you to NetGalley and Haymarket Books for an arc in exchange for a free review.

Oh, my heart. Country Queers is a memoir/photo book that details the varied experiences of queer individuals living in the country in the US. I grew up queer in a small town in Texas, and this book really did a great job of capturing the voice of queer individuals who do not live in the city.

I loved that there was a focus on BIPOC, trans, 2 spirit, and elder queer voices. Some interviews highlighted coming of age during the AIDs epidemic, while others discussed growing up queer in the 1940s. I appreciated hearing everyone's stories & the care with which Rae Garringer presented them. I also appreciated the love for the rural atmosphere that was seen in so many of the stories.

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Rae Garringer, and Haymarket Books for the chance to read & review! I will be thinking about this one for a long time.