Coming Out & Beyond: LGBTQIA+ Stories: Season 5 Episode 37 | Sarah St. John

Coming Out & Beyond: LGBTQIA+ Stories: Season 5 Episode 37 | Sarah St. John

Author: Anne-Marie Zanzal 1ac1f670-c17c-11f0-806a-ef1502adef07 September 20, 2024 Duration: 44:30

Coming out is often an ongoing process, and sometimes people come out selectively to the people around them. It is not unusual for our family members to be the last to know this important piece about our identity. Podcaster Sarah St. John understands this truth. While Sarah has a happy life with her partner, she has yet to come out to her family of origin and has lost members of her support system in the coming out process. In this episode of Coming Out & Beyond: LGBTQIA+ Stories, host Anne-Marie Zanzal talks to Sarah about her coming out experience, the impacts of a conservative faith tradition, why the "right time" to come out does not exist, loss of friends and support systems, and much more.


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

Coming Out & Beyond  Support for Women Questioning Their Sexuality Later in Life
Podcast Episodes
I Had Been Waiting For Something My Whole Life [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:16
In this week's episode of Coming Out & Beyond, Anne-Marie traces the winding, decade-long road that led her from a single paragraph in an Oprah magazine to finally saying the words out loud — and finding the woman who wo…
Red Flags, Love Bombing & Listening to Your Inner Voice [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:00
You're finally dating women — and maybe dating in general for the first time in decades. The apps are confusing, the feelings are big, and it can be hard to know when to trust your gut and when you're overthinking it. In…
Too Gay to Fit In, Too New to Feel at Home [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:14
Coming out names something true. But it doesn't hand you a place to land.In this episode of Coming Out & Beyond, Anne-Marie sits down with returning guest Anna Empey — LGBT coach, business development consultant, and com…
🤔So... Are You Actually Ready to Date? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:32
Are you ready to date — or do you just want to be? There's a difference, and this episode of Coming Out and Beyond is here to help you figure that out.Anne-Marie is joined by the wonderful Barbara Rowlandson — dating coa…
The Losses No One Talks About When You Come Out [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:23
Coming Out & Beyond has evolved.This season is now exclusively for women questioning their sexuality, coming out later in life, and creating a life beyond—at a human pace, with honesty and community.And if you found your…
What Heated Rivalry Gets Right About Coming Out [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:58
What Heated Rivalry Gets Right About Coming OutYou wouldn't expect a steamy male hockey romance to hit so close to home for later-in-life lesbians — but Heated Rivalry on HBO Max did exactly that.In this episode, Anne-Ma…