I Might Be in Love with All My Friends with Emily Rau
In celebration of Pride Month, each Friday in June we’re re-sharing our favorite episodes featuring LGBTQ+ voices from the Wildfire community.
Emily Rau is an Assistant Professor of Digital Humanities at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, and the editor of the Willa Cather Archive. In this episode Emily reads her essay “I Might Be in Love with All My Friends” from the 2023 “Love & Intimacy” issue of Wildfire. Emily’s story is about sensuality mixed in with a lot of milestones and steps in a breast cancer experience that we haven’t really heard before at Wildfire.
April and Emily will talk about why it was important to share a cancer story that folds into Emily’s queer and polyamorous life, honoring her grief in cancer, the role the polyamorous community played in Emily’s cancer journey and the fear of overtaxing people with our burdens. They will also discuss the prairie, and hear Emily beautifully explain the comfort and metaphor this particular landscape provided her in cancer. This episode contains explicit content about drugs and sex.
Longing to Belong with Ash Davidson
Ash Davidson was diagnosed with breast cancer at 42 when it was discovered during gender-affirming surgery. In this episode Ash reads his essay “Longing to Belong” from Wildfire’s 2024 “Queer” issue. Ash’s story is about the unique challenges in a medical landscape that often fails to acknowledge the diverse narratives within the cancer community. April and Ash will talk about what it’s been like sharing his story multiple times, finding and making queer support in cancer, the desire to advocate in the cancer community, and feelings about scars. They will also discuss feeling unsafe in your body and intimacy after breast cancer.
Longing to Belong with Ash Davidson
Ash Davidson was diagnosed with breast cancer at 42 when it was discovered during gender-affirming surgery. In this episode Ash reads his essay “Longing to Belong” from Wildfire Magazine’s 2024 “Queer” issue. Ash’s story is about the unique challenges in a medical landscape that often fails to acknowledge the diverse narratives within the cancer community. April and Ash will talk about what it’s been like sharing his story multiple times, finding and making queer support in cancer, the desire to advocate in the cancer community, and feelings about scars. They will also discuss feeling unsafe in your body and intimacy after breast cancer.
Asymmetry with Julia D. Pereira
Julia D. Pereira is a psychologist and artist who was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) at 32. In this episode of The Burn Julia reads her essay “Asymmetry” from Wildfire Magazine’s 2024 “Queer” issue. April and Julia will talk about magic caught in moments of uncertainty, finding strength in the unknown, and making important decisions with agency. They will also discuss finding a space to connect in breast cancer when you are queer.