Collection: Biography & Memoir

"A lively, affectionate autobiography with messages of inspiration and acceptance." -Kirkus Reviews

"An inspiring depiction of human endurance and the heart-healing balms of generosity and kindness." -Jeff Mann, author of Purgatory

When Scott Terry was ten, he embraced the Jehovah's Witness faith and their prediction that the world would soon end. As an adolescent, he prepared for Armageddon and prayed for God to strip away his growing attraction to other young men. By adulthood, Terry found himself no longer believing in the promised apocalypse. Over time, he left the Witness religion and became a cowboy, riding bulls in the rodeo. He overcame the hurdles of parental abuse, religious extremism, and homophobia and learned that Truth is a concept of honesty rather than false righteousness.

Cowboys, Armageddon, and The Truth: How a Gay Child was Saved from Religion offers an illuminating glimpse into a child's sequestered world of abuse, homophobia, and religious extremism. Scott Terry's memoir is a compelling, poignant and occasionally humorous look into the Jehovah's Witness faith-a religion that refers to itself as The Truth-and a brave account of Terry's successful escape from a troubled past.

"A powerful story not only of dealing with and escaping from abuse but also about coming to terms with being gay in an atmosphere that regarded it as both unnatural and sinful." - Brady Clemens, GLBTRT of the American Library Association

"A whiplash piece of literary reporting, about a family of children growing up poor and religiously abused in the rural West, and one child miraculously finding himself in spite of everything. I was riveted." -Patricia Nell Warren, New York Times Bestselling Author of The Front Runner

Advocate magazine Top 20 Must-Read Books

Nominated for the Over The Rainbow Book List by the American Library Association in July 2012

Best LGBT Debut and Best LGBT Non-Fiction of 2013 by Rainbow Book Awards, Elisa Reviews

Are you ready to step into the courage and confidence required to live true to yourself as an LGBTQ+ person?

Or are you ready to live even more loudly and proudly?

Or, are you the parent of an LGBTQ+ person who is looking for guidance on how to support them?

Perhaps you're an ally or advocate who's seeking ways to bolster the queer community and ensure their freedoms?

If you answered yes to any of the above, then this book is for you.

Joyously Free! Stories & Tips for Living Your Truth as LGBTQ+ People, Parents and Allies by Elizabeth Ann Atkins and Joanie Lindenmeyer celebrates personal fulfillment, joy, and the exhilarating adventure of blazing a passionate trail into self-discovery.

The authors and dozens of contributors from across America share personal stories and tips in chapters that explore being lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer, as well as being the parents and allies/advocates of LGBTQ+ people. These stories appear in chapters that explore same-sex marriage, self-love and affirmation, tips for finding the courage to come out and create a joyous life, and guidance for finding peace and love with spirituality and religion-a topic that has deeply wounded many LGBTQ+ people.

Joyously Free! touches on the emotional turmoil and lack of fulfillment experienced by those restricted by fear, secrecy, and societal judgment.

The authors hope that this book can serve as a beacon of hope and empowerment that helps people everywhere live Joyously Free!

Excerpt:

Joyously Free!

These two powerhouse words are splashed in big, bold letters amidst exploding rainbow clouds on the cover of this book for a reason:

Liberating your mind, body, and spirit as an LGBTQ+ person to live and love as you truly desire opens the gateway to experience pure joy on every level.

You can also do this as a parent, ally, and/or advocate while helping others achieve peace and sovereignty over their lives.

Yes, it can be scary, difficult, and seemingly impossible.

And if it were easy, you and they would already be Joyously Free!

As with any goal, it helps to have a guide, and here we are. We want you to have fun... be creative... and never stop believing until you're living your dream in vibrant, 3-D reality.

So, when you open this book, you're looking into a portal of infinite possibilities to unleash your wildest imagination and script your LGBTQ+ dream life and love, starring the most powerful, peaceful YOU!

Treatment for anxiety all too often includes medication-but at what cost to the patient? After struggling with a lifetime of clinical anxiety, author and artist Lenny Gallo was confronted with the decision to try medication to help manage his symptoms. The medication did not work as expected and caused a misunderstood and often misdiagnosed movement disorder. This book reflects his journey to find the answers that redirected the course of his life.

Lenny's artwork is intertwined throughout the story. His unique paintings chronicled his distress and provided insight into his world of suffering from a rare disorder with no answers available. This cautionary tale explores the author's anxiety-ridden early life; the relationship between patients and doctors; mental health medications and their side effects; and examines the mental health profession from the perspective of both patient and practitioner.

Dramatically and beautifully told through witty and heartbreaking narrative, Unstill explores what it meant for the author to face his demons.

Treatment for anxiety all too often includes medication-but at what cost to the patient? After struggling with a lifetime of clinical anxiety, author and artist Lenny Gallo was confronted with the decision to try medication to help manage his symptoms. The medication did not work as expected and caused a misunderstood and often misdiagnosed movement disorder. This book reflects his journey to find the answers that redirected the course of his life.

Lenny's artwork is intertwined throughout the story. His unique paintings chronicled his distress and provided insight into his world of suffering from a rare disorder with no answers available. This cautionary tale explores the author's anxiety-ridden early life; the relationship between patients and doctors; mental health medications and their side effects; and examines the mental health profession from the perspective of both patient and practitioner.

Dramatically and beautifully told through witty and heartbreaking narrative, Unstill explores what it meant for the author to face his demons.

Larry Chrysler's life takes a dramatic turn when a chance encounter with a mysterious stranger disrupts his day. From that moment, the son of a bipolar mom and a homophobic dad decides he must follow his heart and forge his own path to success if he is to achieve his fashion design dreams. Armed with only a high school diploma and "angels on his shoulders," Larry befriends wayward princesses, dresses A-list actors and rock music royalty, and embarks on jet-setting adventures his younger self hardly could have imagined.

Scattershot: My Journey from the Projects to Paris to Rodeo Drive tells the unforgettable story of a Jewish gay boy who leaves the oppressiveness of the Minneapolis projects to pursue a glamorous career in design among elite fashion circles in America and Europe. At times funny, wise, and heartfelt, this is a story of coming out during the repressive 1950s and of eventually finding true love. In this wryly candid and inspirational memoir, Larry proves that no dream is impossible with a little daring and panache-and, of course, a fabulous wardrobe.

A young, aspiring writer desperate for a break...and the legendary Andy Warhol superstar who gave him the story of a lifetime.

By the mid-1980s, Holly Woodlawn, once lauded by George Cukor for her performance in the 1970 Warhol production and Paul Morrissey directed Trash, was washed up. Over. Kaput. She was living in a squalid Hollywood apartment with her dog and bottles of Chardonnay. A chance meeting with starry-eyed corn-fed Missouri-born Jeff Copeland, who moved to Hollywood with dreams of 'making it' as a television writer, changed the course of BOTH of their lives forever.

Love You Madly, Holly Woodlawn is a story of how an unlikely friendship with a young gay writer and an, ahem, mature trans actress and performer created the bestselling autobiography of 1991, A Low Life in High Heels. This book about writing a book is a celebration of chutzpa and love as Holly, the embodiment of Auntie Mame, introduces Jeff to the glamorous (and sometimes larcenous) world of a Warhol Superstar. In turn, Jeff uses his writing (and typing) talent to give Holly the second chance at fame she craved.

In turns hilarious and heartwarming, Love You Madly, Holly Woodlawn is a portrait of the real Holly who loved deeply, laughed loudly, and left mayhem in her wake.

This is a novel based on a true life story about sex, lust, lies and the pursuit of love. The journey from Africa to America is filled with hopes, dreams and clouds of promise. When the desires of a heart conflict with familial and cultural tradition, choices will be made. Tunde's story begins with innocence, travels through heartbreak and despair to land in rebirth. What doesn't kill him, in the end may just save his life.

Author Biodun Abudu (Tales of My Skin) presents another thrilling true life story. Capturing the details of horrific events in the life of Funke. A story which takes you on a journey through the stages of her life and the evolution of herself. With a life full of hardship, Funke questions herself and her purpose. Funke takes us on a roller coaster ride. A deep dive through her inner thoughts and emotions, as we uncover tragedy in a tension-filled family, as she tries to escape her reality. Stolen sanity sheds light on when lies and deception meet a picture perfect image.

"Generous and gorgeous... Filled with places and people that will stay with you long after you read it... " -- Nicole Helget, author of The Summer of Ordinary Ways

"A first-of-its-kind memoir ... An honest and thrilling reckoning of American and Armenian queer life." - J.P. Der Boghossian, Founder of the Queer Armenian Library and host of the podcast This Queer Book Saved My Life

In a small Texas town, Brent comes out to his parents, and on that night his place in the world cracks wide open. Unmoored from his family but unwilling to give up on his dream, Brent enters the Peace Corps with the incredible task of navigating an unfamiliar land, a new language, and a new identity as a gay man in post-Soviet Armenia.

As he grapples with a religious past and a queer future, Brent finds himself immersed in a culture he'd never imagined. He moves in with Armenian families, celebrates his first Nor Tari, hunts mushrooms in the mountain mists, and dances in Yerevan at his first gay bar, all while hoping for and trying to find romance, even love. When his Peace Corps commitment begins to take unexpected turns, Brent must decide what matters to him most and where he thinks he belongs.

It isn't easy growing up in the Bible Belt of East Tennessee when you start having same-sex fantasies as a child, especially when your father is a preacher who thinks that homosexuality is a sin.

Moments of pleasure and the torment of guilt intersect in this memoir by Jeffrey L. Carrier. Exploring his sexuality and trying to make sense of his feelings, he takes us along on his journey of acceptance. Beginning with his childhood in the 1960s, he introduces us to the people who helped him along the way, including his grandmothers, an aunt with a refreshingly open mind, two strong southern women, and a kind and nurturing professor's wife in Michigan.

The joy and pain of loving another man for the first time climaxes with a suicide attempt, and we follow Jeffrey's journey as he leaves the hills of Tennessee for the skyscrapers of Manhattan. There, he finally comes to terms with his sexuality as the AIDS crisis of the 1980s looms large in the background. His life takes another turn when he meets a long-retired actress trying to reclaim her lost fame by penning her memoirs. She introduces him to a life of old-Hollywood glamour.

By turns romantic, heart-wrenching and sentimental, the book is a delightful story of love, loss and gay life in modern America.

Ever pondered the shift from a tranquil town to the bustling streets of New York City? In her early twenties, Jess took the leap. Navigating a demanding industry where she often outpaces her male counterparts, yet earns significantly less, balancing life as a devoted dog mom, and navigating the complex terrain of NYC dating, Jess juggles it all while seeking meaningful connections and cherishing moments with friends. Amidst the city's chaos, will she find the bond she's searching for?

What readers are calling the gay Eat, Pray, Love...

Sometimes, to find yourself, you must first burn everything down.

Karl had it all; a husband, a home in the Los Angeles Hills, success. When his marriage ended suddenly, his perfect life and sense of self were shattered.

His legal battles threatened everything he had, and he soon found himself working non-stop, leading to a downward spiral filled with anxious days and sleepless nights of rage and fear.

Ironically, Karl's divorce ignited a journey of self-discovery-a quest for identity, love, and acceptance that took him from LA to a mid-divorce crash-landing in Berlin.

This raw and unflinching memoir welcomes readers into the heart of Karl's transformative journey-burning the scripts written for him by both the gay and straight worlds, facing down his deepest fears, and forging his own path to self-love.

How To Burn A Rainbow is a gripping narrative of resilience and courage that dares to ask the hard questions about love, equality, and the price of happiness.

In the end, Karl's marriage didn't make him whole, his divorce did.

A poignant and thought-provoking memoir following one psychiatrist and four of her patients as they deal with the unspoken mental and physical costs of caring for others--perfect for fans of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone and The In-Between.

For Dr. Jessi Gold, everything was absolutely fine--until it suddenly wasn't. As an assistant professor, practicing psychiatrist, university wellness leader, regular media expert, and dedicated friend and family member, Jessi was used to being constantly busy. After all, people--her patients, colleagues, and loved ones--needed her, so who was she to say no to any opportunity to help, be that an extra therapy session, corporate wellness talk, or favor for a friend. She was a doctor, trained to serve, to put the needs of others before her own. But when Jessi is so mentally overwhelmed that she commits an unthinkable error during a patient session, she's forced to reevaluate everything that the medical system has taught her.

While reassessing her own complex relationship to the health-care industry, Jessi begins to examine it through the eyes of some of her healthcare worker patients--a thirty-something resident with OCD, a pregnant nurse suffering from PTSD, an aspiring medical student with crippling test anxiety, and an experienced ER physician who feels completely overwhelmed. In their discussions of burnout, perfectionism, empathy, and the emotional burden of working in health care, and through her own personal therapy sessions, Jessi recognizes that she is not alone in struggling to maintain her humanity, in a field that she chose because of its humanity in the first place.

Expertly weaving research expertise with unforgettable stories and raw emotion, How Do You Feel? demonstrates the unbridled capacity that we as humans have for connecting, learning, and growing. At once deeply personal, but also utterly universal, it reminds us all that when caring for others, we first have to remember to care for ourselves.

Both Thomas Edison and Henry Ford started off as insatiably curious tinkerers. That curiosity led them to become inventors--with very different results. As Edison invented hit after commercial hit, gaining fame and fortune, Henry struggled to make a single invention (an affordable car) work. Witnessing Thomas's glorious career from afar, a frustrated Henry wondered about the secret to his success.

This little-known story is a fresh, kid-friendly way to show how Thomas Edison and Henry Ford grew up to be the most famous inventors in the world--and best friends, too.