Disturb the Comfortable

Throwback Tales: Celebrating Our Past Love and Literature Writers

Remember when Maia Leggott submitted her first chapter back in July 2021? Well, let's just say the Love and Literature team was shook. Maia is an incredible writer who has the keen ability to pull you right into her world. You feel as if you are there standing alongside her, through the pain and pleasure.

And can we talk about the topics she covers? Maia fearlessly centers sex, women's pleasure, mental health, and reproductive health in her writing. It's refreshing to see someone tackle these subjects with such honesty and sensitivity. It's not every day you come across a writer who can make you feel seen and heard in this way.

Of course, we're not the only ones who felt this way. You folks LOVED Maia's writing, and we don't blame you.

Many of you were hooked on Maia's writing, but there were also those who didn't quite agree with her transparency.

But Maia appreciated it all.

I was surprised at the reception to my writing, and how many people seemed to relate. It's very humbling to share a vulnerable personal story and be reminded that some experiences are just universal. One comment that stands out to me is someone who said my story reads like the collateral they collect from people to keep them from leaving a cult. To shame them, essentially. I'll take that as a compliment?! I offer that "collateral" of my own accord, with no expectations or boundaries, or shame attached. I am merely a human being living a human experience and doing my best to share that when I can so others feel less alone.

As the great Banksy has famously said, "Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable."

Writing is about creating waves, after all.

Our intention is to make you, our community, feel something with each story we share. And if you're uncomfortable, well, we've done our job.

This is what Maia had to say about writing for Love and Literature:

I'd had blogs in the past (several!) so I knew a newsletter or a new platform was inevitable. I wasn't quite ready to do it, but sharing the OG Sex, Drugs & Endometriosis helped me see that my stories and experience do indeed have somewhere to land in the lives of others. So I went for it. I'm so grateful to Love & Lit for providing a platform to tell the stories that aren't often told.

What’s Maia up to now?

Well, she's been busy pitching her memoir titled "Sex, Drugs & Endometriosis" - inspired by the title of her Love and Literature story. Let's all keep our fingers crossed that her book will soon be sitting on a bookshelf near you! She also works with MakeLoveNotPorn as an Ambassador and writes regularly about sex - about how pain and shame made me a MakeLoveNotPorn Star, about sex after a hysterectomy - which she had in January 2023. Maia shares how the hysterectomy had a huge impact on her quality of life and the types of conversations she has in her life and writing. She explores gender and queer dynamics, sex without pain, and feeling more confident in her body as she navigates her existence sans uterus. She also conducted her first writing workshop for people with endo about pleasure in March and will be doing more in the future with The Endometriosis Network Canada.

If you're curious to know more about Maia's journey, be sure to check out her newsletter here. She'll be celebrating the second anniversary of her publication this fall!

So here's to Maia Leggott, a writer who creates from the heart, shares her truth, and shines a light on important issues that often go unspoken. We can't wait to see what she does next!