Book Review: The Advocate
The Advocate calls Conversion Therapy Dropout "a powerful memoir... heartfelt and heartbreaking."
NPR: 'Church Hurt' & the power of healing religious scars
"My failure to change when it didn't work wasn't looked at as something that was wrong with me. I viewed it as divine rejection..."
Outfront Magazine: Interview with Timothy Schraeder Rodriguez
"A lot of these churches wanted their pastors to become influencers, their churches to become lifestyle brands... they were willing to work with me as long as I was, like, signing NDAs."
Let’s Give a Damn: Conversion Therapy Dropout
Check out my conversation with THE Nick Laparra on the Let’s Give a Damn podcast.
Book Review: The Presbyterian Outlook
“Treating conversion therapy as an act of speech, rather than an evidence-based medical treatment, is an invitation to abuse. Conversion Therapy Dropout may help us understand the painful consequences of this decision, while offering a better way forward.”
Debuitiful: 20 Debut Books to Discover from May 2026
Debutiful named Conversion Therapy Dropout one of their 20 debut books to discover from May 2026.
Don’t Be Gentle Podcast: Conversion Therapy Dropout
I loved getting to sit down with Dillon (Dill) to talk about conversion therapy, religious trauma, and how to be gay and a Christian.
Let’s Talk Memoir: Writing Memoir as an Act of Resistance
I was honored to talk about the memoir writing process with Ronit Plank on Let’s Talk Memoir.
NBC Austin: BookPeople to host ‘Conversion Therapy Dropout’ author for book reading
"I realized that the problem wasn’t us. The problem was the program itself and what we were being told to believe about ourselves."
NBC News: Author finds faith and belonging after nearly a decade of conversion therapy
“You can’t argue with lived experience.”
Here’s the full clip from my interview on NBC News Now with Joe Fryer. We covered everything from the recent SCOTUS ruling to the historic report out of the Vatican this week, and why I decided to write Conversion Therapy Dropout.
LitHub: On the Aftermath of Conversion Therapy
My book wasn’t the only book about surviving conversion therapy that released on May 5. Davin Malsarn and I both released books that tackle the harms of conversion therapy from different lenses: Davin’s from the Buddhist lens in his fiction, and mine from the Evangelical world in my memoir.
Despite our different backgrounds and experiences, the themes of trauma, faith, and ultimately finding freedom were so deeply shared.
I’m grateful to share pub date with Davin and for the opportunity to join him in conversation on writing about the aftermath of conversion therapy with Lit Hub.
Oprah Daily: My Job Was to Shape Megachurches’ Identities. Meanwhile, I Was Hiding My Own
By day, I helped these churches reach millions. By night, I was piecing together my own identity as a gay man, quietly wondering if there would ever be a place for me in the very ministries I was helping build.
The Liberated Porch Podcast: From Church Basement Trauma to Collective Recovery
I loved this conversation with my friend Kit Morgan on The Liberated Porch Podcast, where I share how sobriety was a key part of my recovery from moral injury caused by conversion therapy.
Religion News Service: In ‘Conversion Therapy Dropout,’ a survivor exposes the discredited practice
“The biggest lesson I had to learn is that God's lack of an answer to my prayers to change me was an answer, because there was nothing about me that needed to change.”
Re(Thinking) Faith: Conversion Thearpy and Other Bad Ideas
I sat down with Josh Patterson on the (Re)thinking Faith Podcast and Dr. Leah Robinson to discuss my eight-year journey through conversion therapy and the paradox of building digital communities for megachurches while being unable to fully belong myself.
A Matter of Faith Podcast: Conversion Therapy… And What We Should Do About It
In this interview, I urge faith communities to speak out against the current state and growing resurgence of this abusive practice, and talk about how churches can be more affirming and inclusive of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Windy City Times: Author returns to Chicago with conversion therapy memoir as bans face new legal challenges
Windy City Times was like a road map to help me navigate the new world I found myself in after leaving conversion therapy. I was grateful to have the opportunity to chat with Jake Wittich about my book and why I’m looking forward to being back in Chicago to promote my book.
Getting Better with Jonathan Van Ness
I cannot believe I had the opportunity to sit down with Queer Eye’s Jonathan Van Ness on their podcast, Getting Better. We got into it all — including our shared experiences growing up in small-town Illinois.
Culture Study Podcast: Suviving Eight Years of Conversion Therapy
I loved this conversaion with Anne Helen Peterson on the Culture Study Podcast where we discussed my years in conversion therapy and answered some great listener questions.
Harper’s Bazaar: A survivor of conversion therapy reflects on the controversial decision.
Check out my first piece with Harper’s Bazaar on my reflections on the SCOTUS decision and what it means for conversion therapy survivors.