Society & Culture / Social Issues / LGBTQ+ & Gender Identity

Dirty River: A Queer Femme of Color's Radical Dream of Home

Dirty River: A Queer Femme of Color Dreaming Her Way Home

Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha

She left her violent home at seventeen. What came next was a wild, painful search for a place to call home—across North America, through queer and activist communities. Dirty River is the unflinching memoir of a queer, disabled, femme of color who refused to be silenced. Why does this story matter? It forces us to ask: What does it mean to survive, and then to dream, when the world wasn't built for you? \n\nLeah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha is a writer, performer, and disability justice activist. In this deeply personal book, she maps her journey from a childhood of abuse to a radical reimagining of safety, family, and home. This video unpacks the raw truths at the heart of her story—and why they matter for anyone who has ever felt like an outsider in their own life.