Coming Out & Beyond: LGBTQIA+ Stories | Season 5 Episode 33 | Wes Schmitz

Coming Out & Beyond: LGBTQIA+ Stories | Season 5 Episode 33 | Wes Schmitz

Author: Anne-Marie Zanzal 1ac1f670-c17c-11f0-806a-ef1502adef07 August 23, 2024 Duration: 55:44

This week's guest, Wes Schmitz, was raised in a small farming community in central Illinois. While growing up, he retreated deeper and deeper into the closet, forced there by the rhetoric around him. In college, homophobic jokes on campus and in the frat house kept him in the closet. Wes came out at age 29, emerging from the darkness and into a brighter future. Wes says "I never chose to be gay, but I finally chose to be happy." Since then, Wes has flourished in his career, co-hosted the "Two Bottles Deep" podcast, and has built a joyful life for himself in Nashville, TN. In this episode, host Anne-Marie Zanzal and Wes are reunited in the podcast sphere once again to talk about triumphing over negative messaging , the importance of having queer community, ditching shame for good, ditching alcohol for good and the positive consequences that followed, and what it's like to go from having FOMO (fear of missing out) to JOMO (joy of missing out). 

Wes' coming out song is Simply the Best by Tina Turner: https://youtu.be/GC5E8ie2pdM?si=7_zuOuz6Qr1wrj59

Wes also resonates with Miranda Lambert's song, Automatic: https://youtu.be/2ksWKOy665o?si=Q64rgduYd34ZRHcQ

A book that has special meaning to Wes is The Help by Kathryn Stockett: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4667024-the-help


It can feel incredibly isolating to question your sexuality after years of living a different story. Coming Out & Beyond Support for Women Questioning Their Sexuality Later in Life is a companion for that specific journey, created for those who find themselves navigating these waters from a place of established life-perhaps within a marriage, after a divorce, or while building a family. Host Anne-Marie Zanzal brings her perspective as an ordained minister and hospice chaplain to conversations that gently unravel complex layers of identity, faith, and fear. This podcast delves into the real, often unspoken challenges: confronting compulsory heterosexuality, processing religious or spiritual conditioning, and managing the anxiety of how a personal revelation might ripple through your closest relationships. Episodes offer a blend of personal reflection, insightful interviews, and practical support, focusing on emotional and mental well-being without offering simplistic answers. It’s a space where you can hear stories that resonate with your own, fostering a sense of clarity and community. Tuning in, you’ll find a resource that honors the full spectrum of this experience-the confusion, the liberation, and everything in between-always grounded in compassion and deep understanding.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

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