I want to tell a story about ____________.

That’s how it starts. Sometimes it’s an idea about how two women meet…say, underground after an earthquake, or while on the run from the law. It could be a conflict they must overcome, like living a thousand miles apart, or the dirty little secret of infidelity. Maybe it’s a special character, a woman who lived her whole life in the closet only to lose her companion on the eve of their freedom.

It should be obvious that the inspiration for Worth Every Step was the setting. It’s a coming out story set against the backdrop of a quest to reach the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak. Accordingly, that quest is also a metaphor for the challenges faced by those raised in families and communities where their life choices run counter to expectations.

In 1999, my partner had a stroke, and followed it with heart surgery that led to unexpected complications that lasted over a year. I am happy to say she recovered fully, but we both realized the tenuousness of life and health, and vowed to make the most of our choices. I decided it was time to start working on the list of things I wanted to do in my life, one of which was to climb a mountain, and another, to see animals in the wilds of Africa. In the summer of 2001, I set off with a friend on my personal quest to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro, which I claimed after six and a half days of hiking from Lemosho Glades. Getting to the top was the easy part.