Thank You for Calling the Lesbian Line

Lovatt’s heartfelt debut draws on a 1990s logbook for the Lesbian Line, a London-based volunteer-run helpline for queer and questioning women, to expound on issues continuing to face the LGBTQ+ community and her own experiences as a lesbian. Scouring Islington’s Pride archives, Lovatt discovered a deceptively “ordinary-looking notebook” that, through the jotted notes from Lesbian Line volunteers about their calls, revealed a world where “women could speak truthfully and privately without fear of being rejected.” Captivated by the support given to callers and imagining how the Lesbian Line could have helped her come out before her late 20s, Lovatt combines historical research on LGBTQ+ helplines with personal recollections, sociopolitical commentary, and semi-fictionalized accounts of calls—including from closeted housewives, out teens and their homophobic parents, and repeat callers like “Becky,” a disabled woman struggling to access transportation services. Though the merging of genres can sometimes frustrate, particularly when Lovatt delves into contemporary topics like online subcultures, it also serves a purpose, as she aims to expose the many gaps in lesbian history and find creative ways to bridge them. Lovatt also doesn’t shy away from showing how the Lesbian Line, staffed by white cis women, fell short when it came to offering services to trans women and queer women of color. The result is a clear-eyed and moving addition to the still-expanding record of lesbian lives. (May)