Boy Erased

A Memoir

“This brave and bracing memoir is an urgent reminder that America remains a place where queer people have to fight for their lives… Equal parts sympathy and rage, Boy Erased is a necessary, beautiful book.” —Garth Greenwell

“Every sentence of the story will stir your soul” —O Magazine

The New York Times bestselling memoir about a young man’s traumatizing experiences in gay conversion therapy, and his journey to overcome shame and embrace his queer identity in the midst of deep-rooted bigotry. The inspiration for the film starring Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe, and Lucas Hedges, directed by Joel Edgerton.

The son of a Baptist pastor and deeply embedded in church life in small town Arkansas, as a young man Garrard Conley was terrified and conflicted about his sexuality.

When Garrard was a nineteen-year-old college student, he was outed to his parents, and was forced to make a life-changing decision: either agree to attend a church-supported conversion therapy program that promised to “cure” him of homosexuality; or risk losing family, friends, and the God he had prayed to every day of his life. Through an institutionalized Twelve-Step Program heavy on Bible study, he was supposed to emerge heterosexual, ex-gay, cleansed of impure urges and stronger in his faith in God for his brush with sin. Instead, even when faced with a harrowing and brutal journey, Garrard found the strength and understanding to break out in search of his true self and forgiveness.

By confronting his buried past and the burden of a life lived in shadow, Garrard traces the complex relationships among family, faith, and community. At times heart-breaking, at times triumphant, this memoir is a testament to love that survives despite all odds.

Characters anger

What I disliked as an ex gay / gay man was that this didn’t center on the sweetness of Gods redeeming love for broken sexuality. I get where he’s coming from- been there done that, but there is more. … and such were some of you (1 Corinthians 6:11)as a man I will always be attracted to men but I am washed from the shame and am able to be okay with who I am and serve Him wholeheartedly

Raw

It's interesting. I never went through exgay therapy, but I am battling some of the same questions he has at the end in regards to faith. I actually think my mom thought therapy would have been a solution at the beginning but I was lucky and she eventually did her own reading of at least one book written by a queer christian before she said anything too drastic to me, not that I didn't catch the little things. I connected with his story better than i probably could have in any other way i think. I'm at working seething with anger at time and on the verge of crying. It's definitely not the same, but there's a lot of things in there that I think a lot of people go through and internalize the big difference being it's not shoved in our faces continually and packaged with the label cure.

Very good

Amazing story of struggle and accepting your true self. Conley’s story will inspire others not to give up hope. Will recommend others to listen.

I thought this would be more memoir

I was super excited for this story. I thought there were would be more personal experiences, but it seems to be a repetitive story that doesn't really give you much to work with. Very shallow. You don't get very attached to the writer.

Powerful but sometimes slow

Slow at times but a powerful brutal important and honest story thats amazongly told amen