Loving in Secret: Felice Cohen on Coming Out Through Memoir (Encore)

Loving in Secret: Felice Cohen on Coming Out Through Memoir (Encore)

Author: Rick Koonce January 16, 2026 Duration: 30:40

In this deeply moving encore episode of Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage, host Rick Koonce sits down with author Felice Cohen to explore love, secrecy, identity, and healing through storytelling. Felice shares the story behind her memoir Half In, which chronicles her nine-year, deeply intimate relationship with a woman 34 years older—her first experience of true love—at a time when she was still discovering her sexuality and sense of self.


What began as a secret May-December affair became a formative coming-of-age experience that shaped Felice's understanding of intimacy, fear, and emotional risk. In conversation with Rick, she reflects on the power of writing as a tool for grief, self-acceptance, and liberation, and how bringing her story out of the shadows allowed her to finally be "all in" with life and love. Felice also speaks candidly about bisexual identity, family acceptance, and the long-term impact of loving while closeted.


This episode is a powerful testament to the courage it takes to examine our past honestly and to release shame in order to make room for love again.


Key takeaways:

  • Why secrecy can shape — and limit — emotional intimacy
  • How writing can become a form of healing and self-reclamation
  • What it means to move from being "half in" to fully open to love


More About Felice Cohen:


Listeners are encouraged to reflect on their own journeys and reach out for connection, support, or conversation sparked by this episode.


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For more information, visit the PFLAG Cape Cod website: https://www.pflagcapecod.org/podcasts.html


© 2020 - 2026 PFLAG Cape Cod


Hosted by Rick Koonce, Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & Acceptance is built around intimate, unscripted conversations that go beyond headlines. This podcast lives in the personal moments-the difficult family dinner, the quiet realization, the supportive friend’s first question. You’ll hear directly from LGBTQ+ individuals, their parents, siblings, and allies, sharing narratives that are less about grand declarations and more about the daily, nuanced journey toward living authentically. The stories encompass coming out, gender transition, and the complex, ongoing search for belonging, offering a raw and moving look at what courage actually sounds like in real time. Produced by Huntington Northstar Productions in partnership with PFLAG Cape Cod, each episode functions as a personal audio journal, focusing on a single portrait where vulnerability and strength are inseparable. Listening feels like being invited into a deeply meaningful, private conversation that highlights our shared humanity. The collective result is a powerful and necessary tapestry of voices that celebrates resilience while honestly examining the challenges within families and communities. Tune in for a series that connects through specificity, where every story adds a vital thread to the broader fabric of human experience.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 56

Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & Acceptance
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