Out the Other Side: Contemporary Lesbian Writing. Crossing Pr. 1989. c.320p. ed. by Christian McEwen & Sue O'Sullivan. photogs. ISBN 0-89594-364-6 $23.95.
[SOCIAL SCIENCE]

This collection of personal and political stories about lesbian life in the Eighties is an excellent example of the writing that has emerged from recent concerted efforts to present the lesbian or gay lifestyle as an acceptable alternate. Several themes are evident: "Beginnings," dealing with family; "Body Issues"; "Family and Relationships," covering life without a lover, self-insemination, and motherhood; "Speaking Actions, Living Words," which examines self-acceptance and lesbian pride; and "Power and Coalition," which demonstrates the rising importance of the lesbian community. Of particular note: Alice Lee's "spinsterhood and the Chinese Lesbian Group" on "sister societies" and "marriage-resisting women" in China and Kirsten Hearn's "A Woman's Right To Cruise" about disabled lesbians. Recommended.

Kevin M. Roddy, Oakland Public Library, California