“Queer people of all faith traditions deserve to know that they are not alone and that they are loved.” At Longreads, contributor Emily Perper shares four stories exploring the intersection of religion and queerness.

“I’m not sure what lies at the root of this: did I reject pretty, did pretty reject me? Did anger tempt me like forbidden fruit, or drive me forward with its drill instructor’s bark?” Alice Isak on the tyranny of “pretty,” its passage from mothers to daughters, and breaking free.

One night — one of those nights when the world breaks –I said to friends: I need to dance. Watch that I don’t do anything crazy. And I danced. The dancing did not fix the world, but it made the brokenneness a little more bearable.

“Pulse became the place where my best friends learned to be themselves. . . . Pulse was where I learned to love my community.” Daniel Leon-Davis reflects on Pulse as a haven for LGBTQ individuals in Orlando, Florida.

A mom’s call for cultivating compassionate children: “I want my kids to be soft. I do. In a world full of rough edges and sharp corners, I want to raise humans who are gentle and kind.”

“But her 7 a.m. art class was canceled when the instructor called in sick. History class was suspended. There was no gym class because the coach had been shot dead weeks earlier.” At AP Images Spotlight, view a photo collection of a collapsing Venezuelan school.

“Queer people of all faith traditions deserve to know that they are not alone and that they are loved.” At Longreads, contributor Emily Perper shares four stories exploring the intersection of religion and queerness.

One night — one of those nights when the world breaks –I said to friends: I need to dance. Watch that I don’t do anything crazy. And I danced. The dancing did not fix the world, but it made the brokenneness a little more bearable.