Barbara McIntyre,
The Beacon Journal
‘If There’s No Heaven’
The uncertainty, loneliness, yearning and self-realization of gender transition find voice in “If There’s No Heaven,” a collection of poems by Tallmadge resident Barbara Marie Minney.
Minney writes that the poems reflect the “first two years of [her] life as a woman after repressing [her] true gender identity for over 60 years.” Several express the affrontery of those who don’t accept her as a woman. In one, she describes herself as an outcast; in another, as a victim. Still, in “Independence Day,” she exults in “the bravery to be free” and in “Cognitive Dissonance,” dedicated to her counselor, “trusting the new voice / telling me that I am finally / worth of what I need / especially love.”
“If There’s No Heaven” (60 pages, softcover) costs $12 from Poetry is Life Publishing. Some of the poems appeared in other publications.
Barbara Marie Minney is a retired attorney. According to a profile in the book, she and her wife of more than 38 years have remained married and renewed their wedding vows.
