Not So Normal

Growing up in post-World War II Alberta in a stable loving home Tom Symington didn't feel that he was different. Evading early pressures of romance and sexual exploration repressing instances of name-calling (femmy) and hostility from schoolmates Tom was almost able to believe in a world that valued the rights and freedoms of all citizens.<br /><br />From Calgary to Sierra Leone to France this candid heartbreaking memoir braids the evolution of gay rights in Canada with the life journey of one individual. Following high school as Tom entered university and became a teacher he was forced to reconcile his sexual orientation with the prevailing social and legal environment in Alberta Canada and the world beyond. As decades passed femmy merged with gay queer and LGBTQ+ community in a rallying movement and an enduring struggle towards pride and self-acceptance against the current of societal expectations and discriminatory legislation.<br /><br />Not So Normal is as much a coming-of-age odyssey and a celebration of selfhood as it is a grave reminder that there is still much work to be done in the realm of human rights and an urgent call to action to recentre love in our increasingly diverse and divisive world.