For the next few weeks, as we approach the April 8th release of A Family by Any Other Name, I’d like to introduce you to some of the book’s contributors.
Max Mosher is a Toronto-based writer. His essay is called “The Accidental Husband.”
How did you find out about this project?
I was fortunate enough to have Bruce contact me after reading my articles on the Toronto Standard. He asked me to contribute an essay, and I was very excited to do so.
How did you decide what to write about?
After learning the theme of the anthology, I had some trouble coming up with ideas about my own family. I’m pretty close with my family and there’s never been a lot of drama there. Instead, I wrote about my trip to India and used “family” as a metaphor for the dynamics of my tour group. It was only when doing that that stories about my own “flesh and blood” popped into my head as relevant. I guess that’s the way it is with family. How they shaped your world is so much a part of you that you have to take a step back to see it.
Tell us a bit about yourself, both your life and your writing experience.
I’m a former academic, sometimes barista, freelance writer. I’ve written a lot about fashion, for the Toronto Standard as well as WORN Fashion Journal, but I blog and tweet about a variety of topics.
Did writing about your own experiences prove challenging in any way?
As an editor, Bruce pushed me to consider choices I’ve made that were perhaps different than other LGBT individuals would make. For instance, I never considered travelling with a gay tour until Bruce asked me about it. I had to think long and hard about why I hadn’t. Also, I had to explore my habit of coming out by not saying the words “I’m gay” but rather talking a lot and being myself, with the hopes that people will figure it out and be okay with it. It was enlightening to challenge myself to explain how I deal with my sexuality for those who may have had different experiences.
What did you get take away from writing an essay for this collection?
After I finished my essay I felt very grateful that I have friends and family who accept me for who I am. I knew that before, but it was nice to put it down in writing.
Do you have any new/upcoming projects you’d like readers to know about?
I would definitely encourage people to look up my essay in issue 2 of Hello Mr. magazine, a great new queer publication from Australia. Two articles of mine will be published in the WORN Archive, an anthology of stories from WORN Fashion Journal, which will be published later this year. Lastly, you can follow my sass on Twitter.