Is it ever too late for a new beginning? Is it ever too late to live out loud? Author Suzette Mullen joins us in conversation with Athena Dixon, talking about The Only Way Through is Out: a memoir of discovering one’s sexuality and finding the courage to act. To reserve your copy of the book for this event, use the Add to Cart button on this page.
Suzette Mullen was raised to play it safe — and she hated causing others pain. With college and law degrees, a kind and successful husband, two thriving adult sons, and an ocean-view vacation home, she lived a life many people would envy. But beneath the happy facade was a woman who watched her friends walk boldly through their lives and wondered what was holding her back from doing the same.
Digging into her past, Suzette uncovered a deeply buried truth: she’d been in love with her best friend — a woman — for nearly two decades — and still was. Leaning into these “unspeakable” feelings would put Suzette’s identity, relationships, and life of privilege at risk — but taking this leap might be her only chance to feel fully alive. As Suzette opened herself up to new possibilities, an unexpected visit to a new city helped her discover who she was meant to be.
Suzette Mullen is the founder of Your Story Finder nonfiction book coaching and a founding board member of the Lancaster (PA) LGBTQ+ Coalition. Her “tiny love story,” the seed which became this book, was published in the New York Times “Modern Love” column. Introspective, bittersweet, and empowering, The Only Way Through Is Out is both a coming-out and coming-of-age story, as well as a call to action for every human who is longing to live authentically but is afraid of the cost.
Athena Dixon is a poet, essayist, and editor. She is the author of The Loneliness Files, The Incredible Shrinking Woman, and No God In This Room (Winner of the Intersectional Midwest Chapbook Contest, 2018). Her work also appears in The BreakBeat Poets Vol. 2: Black Girl Magic and Getting to the Truth: The Practice and Craft of Creative Nonfiction. She has been nominated for three Pushcart Prizes for both poetry and creative nonfiction as well as a Best of the Net nomination for poetry. She is a fellow of Callaloo and V.O.N.A. as well as a Tin House Winter Workshop attendee. Additionally, she has presented at AWP, HippoCamp, and The Muse and the Marketplace among other panels and conferences across the nation. She has served as a Writer in Residence for the app Dipsea. Athena has been awarded a fellowship from The Martha’s Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing and a 2nd book residency from Tin House.