Gail Hovey

Gail Hovey

Queer Spirit Podcast

Originally from Illinois, Gail Hovey is an editor, writer, and a longtime friend of Marvin Ellison ever since she edited an early publication of his back in the day. Like Tamara Torres-McGovern and Marvin, Gail is a seminary graduate. All three of have degrees from Union Theological Seminary in New York. More recently, Gail has earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing from the University of Southern Maine’s prestigious Stone Coast program.

Gail is also an activist for racial, economic, and social justice, a set of commitments which she traces back to East Harlem in the 1960s and which were further deepened by her time living in southern Africa. Reflecting on these matters, Gail has co-edited a book entitled 'No Easy Victories: African Liberation and American Activists Over a Half Century, 1950-2000.'

We could easily have an extended conversation with Gail about the Pan-African justice movements and her activism as a white ally in southern Africa and back in the U.S., but today we’re talking about her more recent publication, a memoir entitled 'She Said God Blessed Us: A Life Marked by Childhood Sexual Abuse in the Church.' One reviewer describes your memoir, Gail, this way: “This book is a gift. . . written with compassion, righteous anger, and deep insight about the turmoil that abuse generates and about the courage and tenacity required to disarm a debilitating curse and claim an authentic blessing.” Gail Hovey -- writer, editor, activist, and, yes, gutsy abuse survivor – welcome to Queer Spirit.

Marvin Ellison and Tamara Torres-McGovern

Gail Hovey