15 Jun 2018

Surviving gay conversion therapy

From Nine To Noon, 10:07 am on 15 June 2018

Author Garrard Conley was 19 when he was outed as gay and given an ultimatum by his father: undertake gay conversion therapy or be cut off from his family. Garrard was the only son of Southern Baptist preacher in rural Arkansas and throughout his teen years had struggled to suppress his sexuality which was at odds with the beliefs of the people closest to him. The conversion therapy had the effect of sending him spiraling towards suicide - a journey he has written about in a memoir, Boy Erased. The story is being made into a movie starring Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe to be released later this year. Garrard joins Kathryn to talk about his memoir, his life now and how he is still fighting for an end to conversion therapy.