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The Family Outing

A Memoir

Audiobook
2 of 2 copies available
2 of 2 copies available

"Fascinating, funny, and wise, The Family Outing is an affirmation to all of us who know the pain and shame of hiding our truest self, and a stirring invitation into the courage, freedom, and joy of living our whole truth."—Glennon Doyle, author of #1 New York Times bestseller Untamed, founder of Together Rising

A striking and remarkable literary memoir about one family's transformation, with almost all of them embracing their queer identities.

Jessi Hempel was raised in a seemingly picture-perfect, middle-class American family. But the truth was far from perfect. Her father was constantly away from home, traveling for work, while her stay-at-home mother became increasingly lonely and erratic. Growing up, Jessi and her two siblings struggled to make sense of their family, their world, their changing bodies, and the emotional turmoil each was experiencing. And each, in their own way, was hiding their true self from the world.

By the time Jessi reached adulthood, everyone in her family had come out: Jessi as gay, her sister as bisexual, her father as gay, her brother as transgender, and her mother as a survivor of a traumatic experience with an alleged serial killer. Yet coming out was just the beginning, starting a chain reaction of other personal revelations and reckonings that caused each of them to question their place in the world in new and ultimately liberating ways.

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    • Publisher's Weekly

      June 13, 2022
      The author of this eloquent, intricately woven debut is the first in her family to come out as queer, but she’s not the last. As journalist Hempel explains, a series of family interviews during the pandemic revealed her life was founded on a web of “hidden truths.” Her father, raised Christian, lived a double life for decades, until Hempel’s sister discovered their dad had been furtively courting other men online. Their mother, Patti, harbored a weighty secret of her own: As a teenager, she was close with a man who, unbeknownst to her, was an accomplice to the notorious Ypsilanti Slayer. Alienated from her distant husband, Patti fell into bouts of severe depression that, for years, kept Hempel and her younger sisters—both of whom would later have their own coming out (one as bisexual, the other as a trans man)—“afraid that honesty break her.” Hempel’s work has an urgent, intimate feel as she documents her family’s unraveling and eventual rebuilding: “Coming out is the act of letting go of our planned lives in pursuit of the lives that wait for all of us.” Of course, it’s hardly that easy: Old wounds fester, and new troubles arrive, but what rises from the rubble is a deeply moving portrait of generational trauma and painstaking repair. This interrogation of familial fissures and bonds radiates with empathy and grace.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      This memoir, based on interviews Hempel conducted with her siblings and parents, is about change and growth. Hempel's lively narration perfectly captures that spirit of seeking as she recounts, with humor and some sadness, the events that helped her family members find their way back to each other. After Hempel and her father came out as gay, her brother as trans, her sister as bi, and her mother as the survivor of a traumatic event, they realized the secrets they'd all been keeping would eventually destroy them. The love Hempel feels for her family is apparent in the thoughtful, compassionate way she writes and speaks about them. This is a bighearted book about the work of healing, made even better by Hempel's warm and intimate narration. L.S. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
    • Library Journal

      March 1, 2023

      Technology and social-media journalist Hempel's debut memoir came about during the pandemic when she reached out to interview five members of her unconventional family and record their coming-out stories. Hempel, who hosts the Hello Monday podcast, writes, "We all came out of the closet and now we're okay," but that was a process that took decades for deep family secrets to surface, with her siblings and their parents all finding themselves in the process. Both the author and her father came out as gay, her sister as bisexual, her brother as transgender, and her mother as a survivor of trauma and depression stemming from her close proximity to the "Ypsilanti Ripper," a serial killer who terrorized her neighborhood in the late 1960s. The author's narration is warm and congenial, guiding listeners on her compelling journey. VERDICT Beautifully written, this thoughtful and unique literary memoir may appeal to audiences interested in LGBTQIA+ studies. Share with readers who appreciated the works of authors Putsata Reang, Dani Shapiro, and Carmen Rita Wong.--Phillip Oliver

      Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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