Garrard Conley
Garrard Conley | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Conley in 2018 | |
| Born | 1984 or 1985 (age 40–41)[1] United States |
| Notable works | Boy Erased: A Memoir |
| Website | |
| garrardconley | |
Garrard Conley (born 1984 or 1985)[1] is an American author and LGBTQ activist known for his autobiography Boy Erased: A Memoir, recounting his childhood as part of a fundamentalist family in Arkansas that enrolled him in conversion therapy. The book was adapted for the 2018 film, Boy Erased.[2]
Early life and education
[edit | edit source]Conley was raised first in Cherokee Village and then later in Mountain Home, Arkansas. His father is a Southern Baptist preacher and former car salesman. Garrard "spent years struggling to reconcile his sexuality with his faith".[1] His family had a house on Lake Thunderbird where Conley would spend time on their pontoon boat.[3]
He attended Lyon College for a semester before returning home after being outed to his parents by a student who had raped Conley.[4] Conley was sent to Love in Action to undergo conversion therapy—the controversial pseudoscientific practice of trying to change someone's sexual orientation from homosexual to heterosexual using psychological or spiritual interventions—in 2004.[5] At Love in Action, he underwent treatments by John Smid, who later left the organization, disavowed conversion therapy, announced he was still gay and stated he had "never met a man who experienced a change from homosexual to heterosexual".[6]
Career
[edit | edit source]In 2016, Conley taught English literature at the American College of Sofia in Bulgaria.[3] He is the author of Boy Erased: A Memoir, which was based on his experiences at Love in Action.[7] The book was later adapted into the 2018 film Boy Erased by Joel Edgerton, with Lucas Hedges playing Conley.[8] He used his newfound fame to "educate the public about the abusive practice of conversion therapy".[1] Conley released a four-episode podcast titled UnErased: The History of Conversion Therapy in America[9] shortly before the release of the film.[10] In 2018, Conley led GrubStreet's Memoir Incubator program.[11] He has continued to travel worldwide telling his story: in 2019, he presented to Southern Utah University, Equality Utah, venues in Germany and Switzerland, and gave a keynote speech for Iowa Safe Schools.[1]
In June 2019, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots,[12] Queerty named him one of the Pride50 "trailblazing individuals who actively ensure society remains moving towards equality, acceptance and dignity for all queer people".[1][13] Conley is an assistant professor of Creative Writing at Kennesaw State University.[14]
Personal life
[edit | edit source]Conley lives in New York City with his husband.[11][15]
Works
[edit | edit source]Novels
[edit | edit source]- All the World Beside (March 26, 2024), Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
Non-fiction
[edit | edit source]- Boy Erased: A Memoir, or Boy Erased: A Memoir of Identity, Faith, and Family (2016), memoir, Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
References
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External links
[edit | edit source]- Lua error in Module:Official_website at line 94: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- Garrard Conley at IMDbLua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
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