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public high school deeper in the heart of the valley, in a city voted "All-American." Her relocation doesn't sit too well with Laurie's girlfriend back in Santa Cruz, who says to
Laurie, "You don't look like you anymore."
Despite her struggle to sway students' and teachers' attention from her sexual identity, they seem to "know" anyway, as evidenced by homophobic slurs she
hears in the school halls, and snickers from the student-athletes she coaches. Eventually she asks herself the hard questions: why did she choose to live and teach in a town in which she is at best
ignored, and at worse harassed, because of her sexual orientation? What is the meaning behind the irony that, as she helps her students discover their voices, she is silencing her own? Through honest
self-reflection, Laurie discovers that her experiences ten years earlier as both a high school dropout and an emancipated minor presented some difficult obstacles—and helped her to see into the hearts of her
own students. Through her challenging teaching experiences, and personal reflections, Laurie begins to cultivate a sense of "home within" while simultaneously discovering new directions educators might take
towards fostering more inclusive values and respectful attitudes.
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