Prayers for Bobby: A Mother's Coming to Terms with the Suicide of Her Gay Son [Paperback]

Leroy Aarons (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 9, 1996

Bobby Griffith was an all-American boy ...and he was gay. Faced with an irresolvable conflict-for both his family and his religion taught him that being gay was "wrong"-Bobby chose to take his own life.

Prayers for Bobby, nominated for a 1996 Lambda Literary Award, is the story of the emotional journey that led Bobby to this tragic conclusion. But it is also the story of Bobby's mother, a fearful churchgoer who first prayed that her son would be "healed," then anguished over his suicide, and ultimately transformed herself into a national crusader for gay and lesbian youth.

As told through Bobby's poignant journal entries and his mother's reminiscences, Prayers for Bobby is at once a moving personal story, a true profile in courage, and a call to arms to parents everywhere.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Mary Griffith prayed that her gay son Bobby would be "healed." After his suicide, her anguish led her on a journey from faithful churchgoer to national crusader for gay and lesbian youth.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Very painful and personal, this is the story of a mother's struggle to reconcile the tension between her deeply held religious beliefs and the suicide of her gay son. Mary Griffith came from a religious family and raised her four children to believe in God and live a Christian life. Their conservative Presbyterian church was the center of family life for every family member except Mary's husband, Bob. When 17-year-old Bobby confided to older bother Ed that he was gay, the family's life changed. Mary convinced Bobby to pray that God would cure him and to seek solace in church activities. Bobby did it all, but the church's hatred of homosexuality and the obvious pain his gayness was causing his family led him increasingly to loathe himself. Excerpts from a diary he kept, family photos, and letters written by Mary to her dead son make the book intense reading for both high-school and public library patrons. Charles Harmon

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: HarperOne (August 9, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062511238
• ISBN-13: 978-0062511232
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (55 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #292,013 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A heartbreaking and thought-provoking story, April 7, 2003

By 

Michael J. Mazza - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Prayers for Bobby: A Mother's Coming to Terms with the Suicide of Her Gay Son (Paperback)

"Prayers for Bobby: A Mother's Coming to Terms with the Suicide of Her Gay Son," by Leroy Aarons, tells a powerful true story. Mary Griffith was a woman who believed in a strict, oppressive version of Christianity and pressured her gay son to try to "change." But after his suicide she reexamined her theology and beliefs about homosexuality and was herself radically transformed.

The book begins with Bobby's suicide and then moves back and forth in time to tell 2 parallel stories: that of Bobby's life and that of Mary's life after his death. This is a profoundly moving story, skillfully told by Aarons. Despite the tragic subject matter, I found the book ultimately very hopeful and uplifting. It's a real story of spiritual liberation and rebirth.

This is also an important book in that it exposes the deadly danger of anti-gay prejudice. The book includes a useful appendix of organizations that deal with gay/lesbian youth and gay/lesbian issues more generally.

35 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Prayers For Bobby is one of the most inspirational books!, July 30, 2001

By 

Porfie Medina "Porfie Jr. Medina" (Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Prayers for Bobby: A Mother's Coming to Terms with the Suicide of Her Gay Son (Paperback)

This book PRAYERS FOR BOBBY is about a a young adult named Bobby Griffith who was an all american guy, but who also happened to be gay, and his mother who has to come to terms with the suicide of her gay son. In this book you see how Bobby faced with the pressure of his family and his religion telling him it is wrong to be gay. You will also read many bone chilling excerpts of Bobbys most personal thoughts straight out of his journal, which shows how much Bobby had been going through from the fight with his religious beliefs to selling himself on the streets as a SUBSTITUTE FOR LOVE. There seems like no other answer and soon the pressure is to much to take and Bobby decides to take his own life. Bobbys mom Mary Griffith who was fearful of her sons sexuality and who was a churchgoer used to pray her son would be healed from this sickness, but once her son dies she decided to transform her life by being a national crusador for gay and lesbian youth. This book realy touched my heart and soul because when I was 10 I lost my uncle who was 20 to suicide. We were very close my uncle was NOT gay, but suicide became something I had no choice but to learn at an early age. This book was a life changing book for me as it made me confront many of my own issues I had to face growing up as a teen and now in to my early twenties. PRAYERS FOR BOBBY is one of those books that inspire you to be better and to not judge others by there sexual preferences, as it is such a small part of ones self. I say if you have not read this book you really need to. This book is sad, but yet one of the most inspirational true stories I have ever read, but this is about real life and real life does not always have the storybook happy ending!

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning, heart-breaking slice of reality., January 7, 2000

By 

Shane C. Desmond - See all my reviews

This review is from: Prayers for Bobby: A Mother's Coming to Terms with the Suicide of Her Gay Son (Paperback)

Simply put, this book changed my life. I only wish everyone could read it and understand what it is sometimes like to be a young gay man living (and sometimes dying) in America today. Heart-breaking, but amazingly empowering, this is a tale that needs to be told.