Pamela Forrest is a wife, mother and writer from Altadena, California
Her new book, Posts from the Edge: Altadena is available on Amazon.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Pam grew up in Oregon. She was a very happy-go-lucky, extremely closeted little girl. In 7th grade she fell in love with Drama. Finally! A class that could teach her how to pretend to be normal. The future looked bright!
Until it didn’t.
Pretending to be something or someone that we aren’t usually has a way of catching up with us, sooner or later. And it all caught up with Pam. In silly ways and horrific ways and ridiculously embarrassing ways.
And then, ever so slowly, she began to come out. Mostly behind the bar in San Francisco, or up on a stage. Performing at the Monday night open mics at Josie’s Cabaret and Juice Joint in the Castro, or having a ball with Global Riot queer comedy improv group in Theatre Rhinoceros’ black box theatre down in the Mission, or tending bar at the legendary Cafe San Marcos on Market Street.
Slowly but surely, Pam was finally dismantling her toxic little closet, nail by nail, board by board.
And then, when there was no where left to hide, love walked in and sat down right beside her. And they’ve been together ever since.
And somewhere in the process of coming out and growing up, Pam began to write.
She’s not a prolific writer - life does demand to be lived, after all - but she has written a few plays, (Beyond Bagdad; Valsetz; Miss Conception), and directed a few more, (Valsetz; The Rape of Djuna Barnes; Pulp), and taught many playwriting classes through the years, through the Women Playwrights Outreach Project, the L.A. LGBT Center and the Transformational Writing Workshop for Women.
Posts From The Edge: Altadena is Pam’s first book. It’s a short memoir, told in 18 essays, about life before and after the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California, where Pam lived with her wife and daughter. The fire destroyed their home of 24 years.
Her next book, What if God is a Lesbian? A Story About Letting Go of Stories, will be published in 2026.
Pam’s plays have won several awards for playwriting, including the Theatre LA Ovation award, the L.A. Weekly Theatre award and the BackStage West Garland award, Honorable Mention.
Her training includes the Herbert Berghof Studio in New York City, the Second City Training Center in Chicago, Friends & Artists Theatre Ensemble, L.A., and the Women Playwrights Outreach Project.
“We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.”
- Anais Nin
Upcoming Readings - Author’s Wish List!
TBD
Skylight Bookstore
Los Angeles, CA
TBD
Vroman’s Bookstore
Pasadena, CA
Posts from the Edge: Altadena
THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
On January 7, 2025, several devastating fire storms, driven by hurricane force winds, ripped through the dangerously dry hills and canyons of Los Angeles County. Two communities were hit especially hard: Pacific Palisades, near the ocean; and Altadena, an unincorporated town nestled in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, about 35 miles east of the Palisades. Pam Forrest and her family lived in Altadena. And, like thousands of other families, they lost their home, and everything they owned, in what would come to be known as the Eaton Fire. The stories in Posts from the Edge are the author’s attempt to look inside what was lost in that horrible fire. And then look again, at what’s been found.