Garrard Conley

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J L
J L
555 books | 167 friends

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Garrard Conley

Goodreads Author


Born
in Memphis, The United States
Website

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Genre

Member Since
January 2012


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Popular Answered Questions

Garrard Conley I actually haven't had any negative responses in any of my readings, though I have faced the occasional online troll (who hasn't though?). I find that…moreI actually haven't had any negative responses in any of my readings, though I have faced the occasional online troll (who hasn't though?). I find that face-to-face interactions, no matter how uncomfortable, tend to evoke more empathetic responses. Also, as a high school teacher I have learned how to spot a troublemaker in the room as soon as I enter, and I use all of my hard-earned rhetorical strategies to calm such people. Thanks for listening! Crouch does a fantastic job!(less)
Garrard Conley Thanks so much! I just quietly sold my first novel to the same publisher, so yes, fiction it is. God I hope I don't have occasion for another memoir, …moreThanks so much! I just quietly sold my first novel to the same publisher, so yes, fiction it is. God I hope I don't have occasion for another memoir, but given our current political climate, I think we all have some trauma to write about! (less)
Average rating: 3.62 · 22,576 ratings · 2,668 reviews · 2 distinct worksSimilar authors
Boy Erased: A Memoir of Ide...

3.62 avg rating — 21,640 ratings — published 2016 — 41 editions
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All the World Beside

3.70 avg rating — 936 ratings — published 2024 — 10 editions
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* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

Interview w Lambda Literary
















I loved speaking with Todd Summar for Lambda Literary. Our conversation lasted roughly 2 hours, and I never wanted it to end. Todd is thoughtful and sharp, and his words are so generous here:

"Boy Erased is not an expose, not a self-help book or sentimentally sensational tell-all. Instead, it is a nuanced, sharply written work of art. Conley’s prose is evocative and

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Published on June 20, 2016 20:32

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Garrard’s Recent Updates

Garrard Conley has read
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
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No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood
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Black Dogs by Ian McEwan
Black Dogs
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Big Swiss by Jen Beagin
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All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy
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I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai
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Plotted like the best mystery; a propulsive read; intrigued by and in agreement with many of the insights.
Garrard Conley answered a question about All the World Beside:
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All Fours by Miranda July
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Quotes by Garrard Conley  (?)
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“Love, over time, could either blossom or wither, become a source of wonder or a remembered ache.”
Garrard Conley, Boy Erased

“You cut out what was once dear to you, ignore the ache in the back of your throat, erase the details you want to forget.”
Garrard Conley, Boy Erased

“What my mother didn’t yet know about being gay in the South was that you never ran out of material, that being secretly gay your whole life, averting your eyes every time you saw a handsome man, praying on your knees every time a sexual thought entered your mind or every time you’d acted even remotely feminine—this gave you an embarrassment of sins for which you constantly felt the need to apologize, repent, beg forgiveness.”
Garrard Conley, Boy Erased: A Memoir

Polls

167545
Books To Movies March 2018
In Honor Of The Academy Awards

A Wrinkle in Time A Wrinkle in Time (A Wrinkle in Time Quintet, #1) by Madeleine L'Engle by Madeleine L'Engle
It was a dark and stormy night; Meg Murry, her small brother Charles Wallace, and her mother had come down to the kitchen for a midnight snack when they were upset by the arrival of a most disturbing stranger.

"Wild nights are my glory," the unearthly stranger told them. "I just got caught in a downdraft and blown off course. Let me be on my way. Speaking of way, by the way, there is such a thing as a tesseract".
 
  3 votes 27.3%

Boy Erased: A Memoir Boy Erased A Memoir by Garrard Conley by Garrard Conley
A beautiful, raw and compassionate memoir about identity, love and understanding.

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.
 
  2 votes 18.2%

Ready Player One Ready Player One (Ready Player One, #1) by Ernest Cline by Ernest Cline
In the year 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines, puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them. When Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.
 
  2 votes 18.2%

The Girl with All the Gifts The Girl with All the Gifts (The Hungry Plague, #1) by M.R. Carey by M.R. Carey
Melanie is a very special girl. Dr. Caldwell calls her "our little genius."

Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class. When they come for her, Sergeant Parks keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair. She thinks they don't like her. She jokes that she won't bite, but they don't laugh.

Melanie loves school. She loves learning about spelling and sums and the world outside the classroom and the children's cells. She tells her favorite teacher all the things she'll do when she grows up. Melanie doesn't know why this makes Miss Justineau look sad.

The Girl with All the Gifts is a sensational thriller, perfect for fans of Stephen King, Justin Cronin, and Neil Gaiman.
 
  2 votes 18.2%

Forever My Girl Forever My Girl (The Beaumont Series, #1) by Heidi McLaughlin by Heidi McLaughlin
I was never supposed to be a rock star. I had my life all planned out for me. Play football in college. Go to the NFL. Marry my high school sweetheart and live happily ever after.

I broke both our hearts that day when I told her I was leaving. I was young. I made the right decision for me, but the wrong decision for us. I've poured my soul into my music, but I've never forgotten her. Her smell, her smile.
 
  1 vote 9.1%

Wonder Wonder by R.J. Palacio by R.J. Palacio
'My name is August.
I won't describe to you what I look like.
Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse.'

Ten-year-old August Pullman wants to be ordinary. He does ordinary things. He eats ice-cream. He plays on his Xbox. He feels ordinary - inside.

But Auggie is far from ordinary. Born with a terrible facial abnormality, he has been home-schooled by his parents his entire life, in an attempt to protect him from the cruelty of the outside world. Now, Auggie's parents are sending him to a real school. Can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, underneath it all?
 
  1 vote 9.1%

11 total votes
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