My name is Lew Wentz.
I am a 68 year old gay criminal defense lawyer. I have been keeping journals for 46 years. I am writing a book based on the journals.
I came out as a gay man in 1984. I was married to a woman then. I left the marriage after telling her I was gay.
My younger sister, Zoe, who I was very close to, died rather suddenly of pancreatic cancer earlier this year. She gave me permission to blog the last two weeks of her life.
I journaled my journey through the turbulent 1980’s and 1990’s. During that time, I was pretty vocal about being gay. I volunteered to help people with aids through their illness and death. And, I believe because of this, I was fired from my job as a deputy Public Defender in Modesto California. I had a 12 year relationship with my partner, Jim, who died in 2009.
I wrote pretty much daily about these events and many others. I never intended for the entries to be made public. But, I now think they should be as they weave a common story of what it’s been like to be out, human and gay in the past four decades.
And, as I journaled, I developed ideas and ways to journal and wrote about them in the journals. I discuss the impact journaling has had on me. And, the amazing revelation reviewing journal entries for the blog and book of just how incredible our lives have been. Memory fades. The journal details do not.
My hope is that , after reading the blogs, and maybe some day the book, you too will become addicted to journaling. Your life on paper will amaze you down the line.