Associate Professor Myeshia Price has been featured in a new book, A Year of Pride and Joy: LGBTQ+ Voices Share Their Life Passions. 

In the book, Price discusses how she finds joy in urban hiking, making the most of urban spaces by hiking along city trails, paths, and bridges, adding, “The idea is to just step outside and use the existing infrastructure around you as your playground and explore new and exciting things. This is how I experience most new cities I’m in and ones I’ve lived in, taking in the sights, smells, and sounds all around me.”

When Price agreed to contribute to the book, they said it seemed like a fun thing to do, but now it feels needed more than ever. It also directly ties to Price’s work with suicide prevention among LGBTQ+ young people.

“There are certainly times when things feel harder for LGBTQ+ young people and a lot of the conversations around them are centered around the risk and struggles they are experiencing, but importantly, we can consider ways to introduce protective factors,” Price said. “Oftentimes, young people have to see people like themselves reflected in the role they hope to occupy in order to realize the possibilities of what’s out there for them and what better thing to reflect right now than the simple message of joy.”

“Things can often feel overwhelming or even hopeless at times for people, and books like this, [bring] LGBTQ+ people from all around the world from different cultures and backgrounds [together to] share things that bring them joy and offer a glimmer of hope and inspiration,” they added. “Perhaps people can read it and find something that they too can find joy in doing.”