Coming out later in life presents its own challenges, and when it's a less well-known orientation like demisexuality (a type of asexuality), those challenges are both societal and personal. I came out aged 47 after struggling to understand for so long why I experience attraction in ways that seem complicated and confusing. When you're different, everyone notices. And you feel it, all day of every day. And some won't let you forget.

It can hinder interpersonal relationship development, both friendships and romantic relationships. This is my story from adolescence to adulthood told through acrostic poems and a handful of essays. Content warning: homophobia, aphobia.