TIMOTHY SCHRAEDER RODRIGUEZ’S "CONVERSION THERAPY DROPOUT" WINS INAUGURAL KIRKUS INDIE AWARD FOR MEMOIR
Acclaimed queer faith memoir earns top honor from Kirkus Reviews for its story of surviving conversion therapy and finding faith, healing, and belonging
NEW YORK, NEW YORK — THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 2026 — Author and advocate Timothy Schraeder Rodriguez today announced that his acclaimed memoir, Conversion Therapy Dropout: A Queer Story of Faith and Belonging, has been named the winner of the inaugural Kirkus Indie Award for Memoir, one of eight books recognized by Kirkus Reviews in the first year of the awards.
Selected from six finalists in the memoir category, Conversion Therapy Dropout chronicles Rodriguez’s journey through evangelical Christianity, eight years of conversion therapy, and his eventual path toward embracing both his queer identity and his faith.
In announcing the winners, Kirkus Reviews highlighted its earlier assessment of the book as: “a compelling journey of faith, healing, and finding purpose.”
Quote from Tim Schraeder Rodriguez:
“I wrote the book I wish I would have had when I was 19 and felt torn between my spirituality and sexuality. I hoped that in sharing my story I could shine a light on the harms of conversion therapy and offer people of all backgrounds and experiences to know they are loved just as they are. I prayed my story would make an impact, and the messages I’ve received from readers, along with this recognition from Kirkus, tell me it is doing just that.”
Published May 5 by Broadleaf Books, Conversion Therapy Dropout offers a behind-the-scenes account of Rodriguez’s years working within some of America’s most influential evangelical megachurches while privately wrestling with his sexuality. After spending eight years attempting to change his sexual orientation through so-called “conversion therapy,” Rodriguez ultimately rejected the premise that his sexuality and spirituality were incompatible.
Rather than abandoning faith altogether, Rodriguez’s memoir explores the more complicated process of rebuilding it — examining religious trauma, institutional accountability, belonging and what it means to create space for LGBTQ+ people who still desire a relationship with faith.
Kirkus Reviews launched the Indie Awards in 2026 to recognize exceptional books across eight categories, including memoir, history and biography, literary fiction, mystery and thriller, science fiction and fantasy, romance, picture books and children’s literature. Winners receive promotional support from Kirkus, an invitation to the 2026 Kirkus Prize ceremony and an agent consultation.
The award follows a growing national conversation around Conversion Therapy Dropout and Rodriguez’s advocacy at the intersection of LGBTQ+ identity, religion and institutional accountability.
Conversion Therapy Dropout: A Queer Story of Faith and Belonging is available now wherever books are sold.
ABOUT TIMOTHY SCHRAEDER RODRIGUEZ
Timothy Schraeder Rodriguez is an author, advocate, and communications strategist whose work explores the intersections of faith, identity, belonging, and institutional change. For years, Rodriguez worked behind the scenes within influential evangelical Christian organizations and megachurches while privately navigating his identity as a gay man and undergoing conversion therapy. He later co-founded Church Clarity, an organization created to increase transparency around churches’ policies and practices affecting LGBTQ+ people and women, and launched Pray the Gay to Stay, a platform reclaiming the language of faith and creating space for LGBTQ+ people who refuse the idea that queerness and spirituality are incompatible.
His memoir, Conversion Therapy Dropout: A Queer Story of Faith and Belonging, recounts his eight-year experience with conversion therapy and his journey toward a faith rooted in authenticity rather than shame.
ABOUT CONVERSION THERAPY DROPOUT
In Conversion Therapy Dropout: A Queer Story of Faith and Belonging, Timothy Schraeder Rodriguez tells the story of his years inside evangelical Christianity, his experience undergoing conversion therapy and the long process of reclaiming his identity, spirituality and sense of belonging.
Published by Broadleaf Books, the memoir explores what happens when LGBTQ+ people are told that faith and authenticity cannot coexist — and what becomes possible when they refuse that choice.
PHOTOS
Courtesy Tim Schraeder Rodriguez
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