Boy Erased (30 page)

I started out wanting to write only fiction, and if it hadn't been for the encouragement of many fellow writers at the University of North Carolina–Wilmington's MFA program, this memoir would not have been possible. A huge thank-you to Ana Alvarez and the entire UNCW Publishing Lab staff, and to all the great writers and teachers who helped me workshop the first two chapters of this book, especially Philip Gerard and Nina de Gramont.

There are so many other fantastic teachers and mentors who have guided me to this point: Chantel Acevedo (my mentor and dear friend), Martha Beck, Karen Bender, Clyde Edgerton, Patricia Foster, Cristina García, Debra Gwartney, Barry Lopez (who first told me to “keep going”), Helen Robbins, Terrell Tebbetts (my first mentor), Judy Troy, Virginia Wray, and many more people whose names I hope will fill up many future books.

The story of this book's inception is as good as any nonfiction piece, only perhaps slightly less believable than most. Thanks to my friend Kathy Flann, I was invited to a dinner where critic and writer Maud Newton (mentor extraordinaire) was a guest. At some point, after a long, uncomfortable silence at my end of the table, Maud turned to me and asked what I was writing. “I write on fundamentalism, too,” she said, after I'd given her a very convoluted explanation of “ex-gay”
therapy. “Would you like to go to a party? My agent says I can bring one other person.” What followed was a slightly drunken night (open bar) in which I ended up pitching my nonfiction (it wasn't even a book yet) to William Boggess at The Book Group. A giant thank-you goes to William Boggess and Julie Barer at The Book Group, who helped me see this story through to publication, and to my brilliant editor, Laura Perciasepe, at Riverhead, whose edits were spot-on and whose enthusiasm has sustained me. Thank you to Megan Lynch, who first took a chance on the book; to the entire Riverhead team; and to Karen Mayer for legal edits that make me feel lucky to have a lawyer on my side.

I want to personally thank Elizabeth Kostova and the Elizabeth Kostova Foundation for supporting my writing at a time when I was unsure of my potential. Thank you to all of the friends who have supported me and provided important feedback during the writing of this book: Hannah Dela Cruz Abrams, Trey Bagwell, John Becker, Emma Bolden, Ashley Campbell (my first reader and closest confidant in all things craft and all things life), Garth Greenwell, Kerry Headley, Amber Hood, Katie Jones, Gabe Moseley, Ben Thielemier, Rusty Thornsburg, Eric Tran, and many more.

Thank you to Ivaylo Vezenkov, for making me coffee in the early writing hours and supporting me during one of the most difficult moments of my life, being there for me when I had to dig deep into memories I wanted to forget. Thank you to Laurel Zmolek-Smith for brainstorming ideas with me during our long runs after work, and for always sticking up for me. Thank you to all of my students at the American College of Sofia, and to friends and family who have continued to support me. Thank you especially to my aunt, Mary Waddell, for supporting me through a difficult time.

Thank you, most of all, to my mother and father, whose love has made all the difference.

Garrard Conley
's fiction and nonfiction can be found in
The Common
,
The Madison Review
,
Spork
, and elsewhere. He was a finalist for
Narrative Magazine
's Winter 2013 story contest. Conley currently teaches English literature and promotes LGBTQ equality in Sofia, Bulgaria.

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