Dear John, I Love Jane: Women Write About Leaving Men for Women

There are plenty of coming-out stories on the market, important but familiar tales of women who knew from childhood that they were "different" and the ways in which they forged their own paths in a heterosexual world. The women in this refreshing anthology come from a different angle entirely. After decades of heterosexuality—frequently perfectly fulfilling—they meet a woman who turns their world upside down. Initially shocked—am I gay? Or is it just her?—they experience a shift in identity that is as welcome as it is unexpected. Some of their husbands and boyfriends are supportive; others are not. Some of the women are still with the woman who prompted the change; some are with another, or in an open marriage with men, or still exploring their identities. All speak of occupying a strange place on the spectrum of sexuality: "I won't insult my past self by saying I was in denial or confused. I am a textbook example of the fluidity of sexuality," writes one contributor. These stories are often funny, sometimes heartbreaking, and always brave as they reveal an often-overlooked arena of sexuality. (Nov.)