"If no one had ever challenged religious authority, there’d be no democracy, no public schools, women’s rights, improvements to science and medicine, evolution of slavery and no laws against child abuse or spousal abuse. I was afraid to challenge my religious beliefs because that was the basis of creation—mine anyway. I was afraid to question the Bible or anything in it, and when I did, that’s when I became involved with PFLAG and realized that my son was a perfectly normal human being and there was nothing for God to heal because Bobby was perfect just the way he was."

You may also like:

• 

  David Guterson
  Novelist

• 

  Grace Llewellyn
  Author

• 

  Ivan Illich
  Philosopher

• 

  Jan Burke
  Author

• 

  John Taylor Gatto
  Author

• 

  Marcia Muller
  Author

• 

  Sara Paretsky
  Author

• 

  Sharyn McCrumb
  Writer

• 

  Sue Grafton
  Author