Last month I published this essay over at Dame Magazine about undergoing conversion therapy as a teen at Escuela Caribe/ New Horizons Youth Ministries.
Recently the 11th Circuit Court effectively legalized conversion therapy. It was important for me to illuminate what conversion therapy actually entails. It’s a term which sounds clinical but is in reality violent and soul destroying. In some ways this piece was the hardest thing I have ever written, just grappling with the stories and my own experience, but in other ways it just flowed, like it had been there my entire life, waiting for me to write.
I spoke with several survivors of the troubled teen industry I connected with via the Breaking Code Silence movement and the Talk Troubled podcast. This episode, where Cadilina Deville kidnaps Talk Troubled to attend the Breaking Code Silence protest at Provo Canyon, made me feel like I knew Cadi before we even spoke.
Thank you again to everyone who reads the essay, and to the survivors I spoke with, Phil Elberg, and to all survivors. We are making change by sharing our stories.
One last thing, even if you don’t feel comfortable sharing your story, know this is okay. Your time is your time. What’s most important is to enjoy your time now.