Throughout June, GeekMom will be celebrating Pride Month with lots of LGBTQ content. Follow the Pride Month tag to find all the content in one space and keep checking back for more throughout the month. Today’s review is the Free to Be Me journal, a fabulous, 192-page journal for anyone who wants to explore their sexuality.
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Created by LGBTQ illustrator Dom&Ink, the Free to Be Me journal is filled with things to color in, doodle on, and write about. The author encourages you to write in pencil throughout the journal because both gender and sexuality can be fluid and your thoughts and feelings may change over time.
Throughout the journal, the author chats to the reader in a conversational tone, reminding us that the journal is “your safe space” where you will never be judged. He introduces us to characters like Basic Betty who stands in for anyone in your life who doesn’t understand things about LGBTQ life, and Riley the Rainbow Llamacorn “who doesn’t give a fluff what others think of them and is a total babe”. Also scattered throughout are illustrations of celebrities with positive messages for the LGBTQ community and affirmations for you to memorize.
The Free to Be Me journal is divided into six sections, although you can jump in wherever you want to go at any time. Section one “OMG, Let’s Be Friends” is where you get to write down what makes you you – your favorite TV shows, music and more, while section two “Free to Be Me” celebrates “your rainbow journey of awesomeness” by exploring pronouns, identities and more. The author shares his coming out story and provides a space where you can write down negative things people have said about you then tear the page out and get rid of them for good.
The later sections include one to celebrate your friends, family, and allies, how to deal with haters (stupid people), and a history of Pride and LGBTQ icons. There’s also a handy glossary at the back, filled with helpful definitions of terms like Gender Dysphoria, Neurodiverse, and Cisgender.
This is a truly fabulous book and one I would highly recommend for anyone questioning their sexuality or simply wanting to explore that aspect of themselves. I will certainly be keeping The Free to Be Me journal on my Amazon wishlist ready to grab copies for any young people in my life who I feel could benefit from it.
GeekMom received a copy of this book for review purposes.
