Heather Searles and her wife, Christina Guillory, traveled from their home in New Orleans to Boston this fall for Heather to give birth to the couple’s twin sons Jax and Crosby. While a trip is the last thing on most couple’s agendas immediately before a double due date, Heather and Christina had to travel to another state in order to give Christina any parental rights to the duo. If Heather had opted to give birth in their home state of Louisiana, Christina wouldn’t have been listed on the birth certificate or been able to adopt the boys. She would therefore have had no rights at school or to make medical decisions for the twins or even have been guaranteed custody in the event that something were to happen to Heather. However, because they had been married in Massachusetts, Christina was listed on the boys’ birth certificates when the couple traveled there for the delivery. And though much of Louisiana is behind the curve on gay rights, more progressive New Orleans will often honor what is written on a child’s birth certificate.


So though it was disruptive to relocate the family to Boston for two months, Heather and Christina enjoyed seeing East Coast friends—both Lynn Webster and K.J. Ward were there to meet the new additions—and were glad to be closer to family during this happy but hectic time. Heather also added, “We recognize how privileged we were to be able to do this and how most gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender Louisianians don’t have this option.” I see from Facebook that the boys are adorable and growing quickly!


I also heard from Jana (Friedman) Brown, who has been writing professionally for 20 years in the publishing, newspaper and magazine industries. Currently she serves as the editor of the St. Paul’s School’s award-winning alumni magazine in Concord, New Hampshire, where she lives with her family. In addition, for the past few years she’s been working on a screenplay with actor and director Perry King (Riptide, The Day after Tomorrow, Melrose Place, Spin City). The Divide is now taking shape as an independent film to be shot in California next summer. Set in drought-plagued northern California in 1973, The Divide chronicles the story of Sam Kincaid, an aging rancher with a failing memory, his estranged and independent-minded daughter, Sarah, and Luke, a young ranch hand who finds himself in the midst of this family in crisis. Internal struggles, the realities of an unforgiving landscape and the need to reconcile a long-ago tragedy collide to create the backdrop for this classic American Western.


For details about the movie, visit www.thedividemotionpicture.com. If you would like to help Jana fund the film, you can donate at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/90298581/the-divide-motion-picture…. 


—Suzie Fromer, 26 Irving Ave., Tarrytown, NY 10591; suziefromer@gmail.com