Are You Two Sisters? - by Susan Krieger

About the Book

Authored by one of the most respected figures in the field of personal ethnographic narrative, this book serves as both a memoir and a sociological study, telling the story of one lesbian couple's lifelong journey together.

Book Synopsis

Authored by one of the most respected figures in the field of personal ethnographic narrative, this book serves as both a memoir and a sociological study, telling the story of one lesbian couple's lifelong journey together.

Are You Two Sisters? is Susan Krieger's candid, revealing, and engrossing memoir about the intimacies of a lesbian couple. Krieger explores how she and her partner confront both the inner challenges of their relationship and the invisibility of lesbian identity in the larger world.

Using a lively novelistic and autoethnographic approach that toggles back and forth in time, Krieger reflects on the evolution of her forty-year relationship. She describes building a life together, from sharing pets and travels to getting married. Are You Two Sisters? addresses not only questions of gender and sexuality, but also of disability, as Krieger explores how the couple adapts to her increasing blindness.

Krieger's title comes from a question asked by a stranger outside a remote desert bar as she and her partner traveled in the Southwest. Her apprehension about answering that question suggests how, even after the legalization of gay marriage, lesbianism often remains hidden-an observation that makes Krieger's poignant narrative all the more moving.

Review Quotes

"The book is both intimate and deeply personal, while also a sociological study of life as a lesbian in the United States through a period of dynamic political and social change.... Are You Two Sisters? is a good roadmap full of descriptive material about how their relationship evolved and what obstacles were overcome.... A key strength of the book is Krieger's openness in sharing her own lesbian identity journey."--Affilia

"Every lesbian looking for a partner would love to know the secret of successful relationships. In her early book The Mirror Dance, Susan Krieger described themes of belonging and ambivalence in a lesbian community; now she turns that mirror inward for a candid reflection on her own relationship of forty years, from an uncertain beginning to an important place of refuge. With beautiful imagery and an engaging writing style, Krieger describes the highs and lows of two women with very different personalities learning to live together." --Esther Rothblum, Ph.D., Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Lesbian Studies

"I could not stop reading this riveting account of traveling through the world in a lesbian relationship. What an honest, engaging, and stunningly written story about the beauty and tensions of being together and separate. The author invites us into her heart, emotions, and head as she seeks to reflexively understand the nuances of lesbian intimacy. This is a book for all those seeking to understand relationships more deeply and those who appreciate getting lost in an extraordinary autoethnography." --Carolyn Ellis, Distinguished University Professor Emerita of Communication and Sociology at the University of South Florida, and author of Final Negotiations: A Story of Love, Loss, and Chronic Illness (Temple)

"Intimate and unvarnished, Are You Two Sisters? documents the many accommodations necessary in a long-term lesbian relationship. Susan Krieger shares her remembrances of journeys with Hannah, and the rhythm of their life together is underscored by Krieger's increasing loss of sight, enlarging the parameters of their partnership."--Marcia M. Gallo, Professor Emerita at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and author of Different Daughters: A History of the Daughters of Bilitis and the Rise of the Lesbian Rights Movement

About the Author

Susan Krieger is a sociologist, writer, and Research Fellow at the Clayman Institute for Gender Research, Stanford University. She is the author of seven prior books, including: The Mirror Dance: Identity in a Women's Community (Temple); Social Science and the Self: Personal Essays on an Art Form; The Family Silver: Essays on Relationships among Women; Things No Longer There: A Memoir of Losing Sight and Finding Vision; Traveling Blind: Adventures in Vision with a Guide Dog by My Side; and Come Let Me Guide You: A Life Shared with a Guide Dog.