Our All-Time Favorite Summer Reads to Celebrate the Season
We've got the perfect pieces for you dig into this long weekend, stories that will have you dreaming of inspirational skinny dips, queer summer camp, beautiful beaches and unexpected allies.
While Memorial Day weekend usually marks the unofficial beginning of summer, from where I’m sitting right now, the forecast is calling for rain, it’s a bit gray and there’s a chill in the air. By the time Monday rolls around, though, things will be looking up. In the meantime, there might not be a better way to channel warm, summer vibes this long weekend than by reading some of our favorite summertime stories, which you can find below. So, make yourself a glass of pickle lemonade, dream about the sun peaking its head out soon and settle in.
1. The Magic of a Mass Dip in the Nip
Story by Dena Levitz
Weeks after her mastectomy, a cancer survivor organized a group skinny-dip that has set a world record, raised a million euros and become a cathartic annual extravaganza for generations of women.
2. I Found God at Queer Summer Camp
Story by Jeanna Kadlec
Jeanna left the evangelical church when she came out as a lesbian. Then she found faith again in the place she least expected.
3. The Real Story of Black Martha’s Vineyard
Story by Genelle Levy
Beyond the beautiful beaches and glitzy galas, Oak Bluffs is a complex community that elite families, working-class locals and social-climbing summerers all claim as their own.
4. I Was Taught to Hate My Lesbian Neighbors. They Took Me In Anyway.
Story by Dena Landon
The summer Dena’s parents’ marriage was falling apart, her best friend’s two moms saved her—even though her dad said they were going to Hell.