Queerness and Catholicism Collide in Bill Hulseman’s Debut Essay CollectionSix to carry the casket and one to say the mass invites readers to examine identity, belonging, and faithA soul-baring essay collection that challenges what it means to inherit identity—and what it means to let it go. Part memoir, part meditation, this striking book offers a nuanced and heartfelt exploration of queerness, Catholicism, pop culture, family, and personal transformation. In an interview, he can talk about: The youngest of ten children in a devout Catholic family, why Bill grew up feeling like “an ornament” in his own householdAs a gay man who went on to teach religion in Catholic schools, the tension between belonging and invisibilityHow we're not "stuck with the identity we inherit," and how “the challenge—and the gift—is deciding what to keep and what to let go.”Hulseman’s voice will resonate with readers of memoirists like David Sedaris, Garrard Conley, or Alexander Chee. His essays offer comfort and challenge in equal measure for anyone who has ever wrestled with inherited identity, struggled with faith, or questioned the role of tradition in their modern life.

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