Saving Alex: When I Was Fifteen I Told My Mormon Parents I Was Gay, and That's When My Nightmare Began

Raised in the Mormon Church, Cooper was always a rebellious teenager. With her Mormon friends, she snuck out of her parents' house, smoked marijuana, and talked back. None of these actions caused much drama in her household, but when the high school sophomore admitted to her parents that the hickey on her neck was from a girl, their family life exploded. Told that she was going to live with her grandparents, Cooper instead was sent to a residential home in St. George, UT, where she was mentally and physically abused in order to "fix" her homosexuality. With the assistance of caring teachers and friends, Cooper legally escaped the respected Mormon family who were trying to "cure" her, and a Salt Lake City pro bono lawyer helped her win the right to live with her parents as an openly gay teenager. Cooper never tried to completely break with her parents; she makes it clear that she wants to be their daughter and to be honest about her identity. This memoir is sure to rile teens to action. Information about Gay-Straight Alliances, PFLAG (Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender People), and student rights is integrated effectively into the narrative, and even reluctant readers will enjoy this memoir.