Gay the Pray Away
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Gay the Pray Away
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Narrated by:
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Natalie Naudus
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Written by:
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Natalie Naudus
About this listen
Valerie Danners is in a cult. She just doesn’t know it yet. When she finds a queer book at the library and smuggles it home, her conservative Christian homeschooling world begins to crack. And when the cutest girl she’s ever met shows up to Bible class, she starts to question everything.
Riley is so confident and kind, and she and Valerie bond quickly over existing as multiracial teens in a very white Christian community. As Valerie explores her feelings for Riley, she begins to see that the world she knows is a carefully crafted narrative.
Publicly, the girls are close friends—holding hands in prayer, rooming together at a conference. Privately, they grasp at any chance to continue their forbidden romance—until they are found out. Now, Valerie must choose between staying with a family she fears will never accept her, or running away with the girl she loves.
©2024 Natalie Naudus (P)2024 Natalie NaudusEditorial Review
What listeners say about Gay the Pray Away
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- emoon
- 2024-06-08
Excellent alll around excellent
What a beautifully and honestly written story. A gorgeous exploration of belonging and listening to your inner best self. Natalie’s writing and performance are stunning in every way. I hope this empowers those who are oppressed by religious organization to find and trust their truth!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Emily Preun
- 2024-06-11
Resonating On a Deep Level
Oya! I am struggling to identify appropriate words for the amount of appreciation I have for this story. This is a love letter to every queer kid who has ever been lectured at, talked down to, or made to feel less than in the name of God. It's the outcome that I wish for anyone who wants to escape cult life or escape the oppression of their families. There were so many incredible nuggets in this book that spoke to the child who lived through a decade of Christ lectures and church going and the slimy guilt you feel when you are told you're a disappointment in the name of Christ. Thank you, Natalie. Thank you for telling your story and being true to yourself and then sharing it with the world.
This was very close to a full 5 Stars, but I did find that a few of the sections repeated some information that had me questioning if my recording had lost my place or started over. Regardless, I can't wait to subscribe to anything Natalie writes in the future.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Holly - Momma Needs to Read
- 2024-06-14
Perfection!
This story is absolutely riveting. It's both heartbreaking and heartwarming and definitely eye-opening to the trauma so many go through while being forced into strict religious practices. This book is written with so much passion and emotion. Natalie Naudus really opened her heart to write this, and it's beautiful. The characters are all written with such depth. Valerie has such amazing character development, and it's something I was really able to connect to. Her realization and understanding that she's been raised in a cult really hit home and brought a lot of memories forward for myself. Overcoming this kind of religious trauma is not easy and takes years of work to recover from. Reading this was, honestly, kind of healing in a way.
Not only is this about escaping a religious cult, but it's also about self-discovery and love. Valerie's journey of discovering who she really is and what she does and doesn't believe in is really great. Her and Riley are such a sweet and pure couple; I really love them and their relationship. They overcome so much and stay strong together through it all.
Narrated by Natalie Naudus herself. She obviously narrated her own book to perfection. I loved the changes in voices she did for different characters and how she really played the character she was narrating.
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