Deborah Lipp

Via Jason, who got it from T. Thorn Coyle:

Sex educator, author, activist, and modern Pagan Patrick Califia has suffered a heart attack. Perhaps even more tragic than suffering a heart attack is the fact that he has no health insurance to obtain proper treatment.

Califia is one of my favorite authors. He blows me away with his forthright honesty about sex, desire, freedom, perversity, and pleasure. It ain’t easy earning your living as a writer. Me, I have a day job. I couldn’t tolerate the instability of being self-employed, and things like health insurance are a big part of that. But a lot of authors choose to go it the hard way, for a lot of very good reasons.

Thorn is urging donations, which I think is a good idea:

“I just received the news that Patrick Califia has had a heart attack. Like many people I know (including myself until very recently, when I decided I could afford to shell out for it every month) Patrick lives with out health insurance. If you are a writer, a queer, a tranny in any form, a proponant of free speech and hot sex, or all of the above – or if you know someone who fits into any of these categories – and have a few extra dollars floating around, please consider making a donation. You may also wish to go to your local independent bookseller and order some of his books. Patrick’s given us roses, let’s give him some bread.”

Here is the contact information:

Checks or money orders in US funds can be sent to:

Patrick Califia
2215R Market Street, No. 261
San Francisco, CA 94114

For charges and non-US funds, Patrick has a PayPal account under patcalifia@aol.com.