242. Writing Memoir as an Act of Resistance featuring Timothy Schraeder Rodriguez

Timothy Schraeder Rodriguez joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about going through almost a decade of conversion therapy, dismantling the dogma of pseudo science with its added layer of spiritual discipline, feeling desperate to change, yearning for a place to belong, keeping faith without losing soul, holding onto journals with the sense of using them someday, the difficulty of having to revisit traumatic experiences, weaving in dark humor, being a present-day witness to the past and honoring the more innocent, naive version of ourselves, getting sober and writing from a place of peace, making discoveries in the memoir-writing process, the importance of platform for nonfiction authors, being present and active on social media before our memoirs come out, being a queer person of faith, loving the present day person we’ve become, and his new memoir Conversion Therapy Dropout: A Queer Story of Faith and Belonging.

Ronit's upcoming workshop: Writing Dynamic Memoir: From Lived Experience to Gripping Story: https://www.lmcmurtrylitcenter.org/workshops/writing-dynamic-memoir-from-lived-experience-to-gripping-story

Also in this episode: -finding a writing community -the generosity of other writers -having a therapist on speed dial

Books mentioned in this episode: -Boy Erased by Garrard Conley -All Down Darkness Wide by Sean Hewitt -Bird by Bird by Ann Lamott -How to Write an AUtobiographical Novel by Alexander Chee -books by David Sedaris -books by Augusten Burroughs

Timothy Schraeder Rodriguez spent almost a decade in gay conversion therapy—all while working behind the scenes at some of the most influential Evangelical Christian megachurches. After embracing his identity as a gay Christian and stepping away from church work, he co-founded Church Clarity, an organization that helps queer people find affirming faith communities.

His story and work have been featured by BBC Newshour, TIME, NBC, VICE, The Washington Post, Huffington Post, and Religion News Service. Born in the Midwest, he now calls New York City home, where he continues his work as a writer, digital strategist, and advocate for queer people of faith. His first book is Conversion Therapy Dropout: A Queer Story of Faith and Belonging.

Connect with Timothy: Website: https://www.conversiontherapydropoutbook.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/timothy.s.rodriguez

Threads: https://www.threads.com/@timothy.s.rodriguez

Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@timothy.s.rodriguez

Substack: https://timothysrodriguez.substack.com

– Ronit’s writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The Rumpus, The New York Times, Poets & Writers, The Iowa Review, Hippocampus, The Washington Post, Writer’s Digest, American Literary Review, and elsewhere. Her memoir WHEN SHE COMES BACK about the loss of her mother to the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and their eventual reconciliation was named Finalist in the 2021 Housatonic Awards Awards, the 2021 Indie Excellence Awards, and was a 2021 Book Riot Best True Crime Book. Her short story collection HOME IS A MADE-UP PLACE won Hidden River Arts’ 2020 Eludia Award and the 2023 Page Turner Awards for Short Stories. She earned an MFA in Nonfiction Writing at Pacific University, is Creative Nonfiction Editor at The Citron Review, and teaches memoir through the University of Washington's Online Continuum Program and also independently. She launched Let's Talk Memoir in 2022, lives in Seattle with her family of people and dogs, and is at work on her next book. More about Ronit: https://ronitplank.com

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