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Saving Julian
Paul believes that homosexuality is an illness. But when he tries to cure himself, and others, he learns just how stubborn desire can be.
Paul Drucker has made a name for himself telling young gay men that he can cure them of their ‘sinful desires’. Trouble is, he’s all too familiar with those desires himself, which leads him to Julian Evans, a male ‘escort’ he finds online. Paul tells himself, and Julian, that he simply needs an assistant, someone to help him on an upcoming lecture tour. The reality, of course, is quite different, and when the media discovers them together, Paul tries to straighten up his image by starting an ex-gay group at his church.
Which is where Julian’s roommate, Aaron, comes in. Eager to expose the ex-gay movement for the sham that it is, Aaron goes undercover in Paul’s conversion group, posing as a gay man hoping to be ‘cured’. However, things get complicated, and more than a little strange, when Aaron meets the other members of the group—a motley assortment of queers struggling to reconcile their desires with their faith, and with their families. Will Paul’s techniques, which include group showers, lessons in manly walking, and something called ‘holding therapy’, lead to newly created heterosexuals? To tragedy? Maybe even to love?
Reader Advisory: This book includes references to child abuse, suicide and sexual abuse.
Publisher's Note: This book has previously been released elsewhere. It has been revised and re-edited for re-release with Pride Publishing.
Pre-order Date: 28th March 2017
Available exclusively to Pride Publishing: 11th April 2017
General Release Date: 9th May 2017
Paul Drucker has made a name for himself telling young gay men that he can cure them of their ‘sinful desires’. Trouble is, he’s all too familiar with those desires himself, which leads him to Julian Evans, a male ‘escort’ he finds online. Paul tells himself, and Julian, that he simply needs an assistant, someone to help him on an upcoming lecture tour. The reality, of course, is quite different, and when the media discovers them together, Paul tries to straighten up his image by starting an ex-gay group at his church.
Which is where Julian’s roommate, Aaron, comes in. Eager to expose the ex-gay movement for the sham that it is, Aaron goes undercover in Paul’s conversion group, posing as a gay man hoping to be ‘cured’. However, things get complicated, and more than a little strange, when Aaron meets the other members of the group—a motley assortment of queers struggling to reconcile their desires with their faith, and with their families. Will Paul’s techniques, which include group showers, lessons in manly walking, and something called ‘holding therapy’, lead to newly created heterosexuals? To tragedy? Maybe even to love?
Reader Advisory: This book includes references to child abuse, suicide and sexual abuse.
Publisher's Note: This book has previously been released elsewhere. It has been revised and re-edited for re-release with Pride Publishing.
Pre-order Date: 28th March 2017
Available exclusively to Pride Publishing: 11th April 2017
General Release Date: 9th May 2017
283 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 10, 2014
20 people want to read
About the author
Mason Stokes
4 books8 followersMason Stokes is a professor of English at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York, where he teaches African American literature and queer fiction. In addition to his scholarly writing, Stokes is the author of the adult novel SAVING JULIAN and the personal essay “Namesake,” which was selected by Jonathan Franzen for inclusion in the 2016 edition of BEST AMERICAN ESSAYS.
His young-adult debut, ALL THE TRUTH I CAN STAND, will be available 11/5/24.
His young-adult debut, ALL THE TRUTH I CAN STAND, will be available 11/5/24.
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January 16, 2015
READ THIS!
August 3, 2018
4 1/2 stars!!
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