Alaina Leary

Alaina Leary

Bio

Alaina Leary is an editor and activist based in Boston, MA. She is currently a social media editor for We Need Diverse Books. She has an MA in publishing from Emerson College. When she isn’t busy reading, you can find her at the beach or curled up with her girlfriend and their two adopted literary cats.

Alaina Leary Articles

4 Examples Of Bi+ Erasure That Bisexual People Are Tired Of Hearing

I’ve been told by LGBTQ+ community members and cis straight folks that my identity isn’t real. I’m guessing they've either never seen my Top 10 Hot List (hint: it features all genders) or watched me Instagram stalk my favorite semi-celebrity crushes, because I am crushing hard on men, women, and nonbinary people.

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The author pictured with their glitter cane. Follow them on IG @alainaskeys

Learning To Love My Sparkly Purple Cane

I’ve walked the line between visibly and invisibly disabled my entire life.

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" Our relationship doesn’t just work because we love each other unconditionally; it works because we both try hard to maintain it."

How To Be A Supportive Partner While Managing Your ADHD

Remembering to do things isn’t exactly my strong suit, so I need to actively plan so that my partner isn’t the only one making lists, cleaning the dishes, and checking that our bills are paid on time.

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Every time I tell a story about her, I’m keeping our memories alive, one leaf at a time.

Surviving Autumn Without My Mom

We think of holidays and big moments first when we think about death. What we don’t talk about are the little moments in between, like surviving Autumn.

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Genre fiction is all about knowing what has been written in the canon previously, what current trends are, what audiences are excited about, and what hasn’t yet been done.

Why Diverse Genre Fiction Is Important, And How To Get It Right

Diverse genre fiction shares a lot in common with diverse literature, in that a lot of the challenges are the same. We still have to ask a lot of questions about who gets to tell what stories, what kinds of books and authors are published, what it means to get it right, and who is on staff at the publishing houses that produce genre fiction.

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Alaina Leary

How I Discovered I’m Asexual And What That Means To Me

I didn't use the word "asexual" until I was a senior in college. I didn't so much use the word as slur it, in between a long drunken ramble, to my girlfriend and our best friend in our apartment's small kitchen.

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Growing Up With Autism And ADHD, I Had To Adapt My Own Education

The education system isn’t designed for students like me. From as early as preschool up through my master’s degree, I struggled in a traditional classroom setting for a few reasons, and needed to adapt my own methods of surviving education.

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Having A Cat Makes Me Feel Better About Being Alive

I told Winnie that I was queer before I told anyone human—late at night, in my room, after writing it down in my journal. “You won’t stop loving me if I’m gay, will you?” I asked him. He replied with his signature loud meow.

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Halloween is my favorite time of year, and I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that I’m autistic.

I'm Autistic, And Halloween Is My Favorite Time Of Year

Halloween can be an autistic person’s worst nightmare with the sensory overload. Yet, I'm autistic and Halloween is my favorite time of year.

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Did my mom feel alone, as if she were blamed for what happened to her? Like nobody could understand what she was dealing with?

After My Mom Died, Drinking Made Me Feel Closer To Her

When my mom died, I made a list of things that made me similar to her: My favorite color was purple, I liked to write, I loved reading, I adored cats, I didn’t wear makeup, my favorite soda was Pepsi, I lived in oversized sweaters. I was 11, so I didn’t add “I love to drink” to the list, but it crosses my mind now whenever I’m at a bar with friends, and I decide to order a cocktail.

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