![Julie Marie Wade. Photo via juliemariewade.com.](https://outsfl.com/media/astroid/assets/images/blank.png)
Award-winning lesbian writer and educator Julie Marie Wade lights up every room she enters. Her joyful spirit qualifies her as the Mary Tyler Moore of literature. She can virtually turn the world on with a smile. The smile, however, is hard-won. Having survived being raised by unyielding, religiously conservative parents, Wade has channeled that experience into her work, creating art and catharsis, including her new collection of braided essays, “Otherwise” (Autumn House Press, 2023). Julie was gracious enough to make time for an interview in advance of the October 2023 publication of “Otherwise.”