The backstory: finding ourselves on Richard Ostler’s podcast “Listen, Learn and Love”
From Cheryl Smith, posted on Facebook:
As you know, Evan wrote a book about his journey in the LDS church and the crossroads it has brought us to with our faith because of our gay son.
We were also honored to do a podcast with Richard Ostler as a way of launching the book. I want to take a minute to talk about these two men:
Evan wanted to write a Facebook post about some of his experiences and soon he had written so much it became an essay and then he turned it into a book. He used the time he would have been using in his previous calling [in the stake presidency] and dedicated all those hours to doing this book. It is a labor of love. I am so proud of him. He has spent countless sleepless nights writing & rewriting. He told me he never thought he would write a book in his lifetime, but yet here we are. Evan, I am so lucky to have you as my husband & I am so proud of you for doing this book!
Now for Richard... Richard was one of the first (and one of the few) people who reached out to us after we had a very negative experience with a General Authority. He felt so bad for us and wanted to just sit and listen to what had happened that he flew out to visit us in Boston one night. We sat in Evan’s office and talked for hours. He listened for hours. My heart was so hurt at that point and Richard acknowledged the pain I felt. I have told him many times since, but the church would be a better place with more men like him in it. Richard, thank you for sharing in our pain and for becoming an amazing friend.
I am so proud of my children. They have supported each other through this time of transition our family has gone through. Wes did the amazing website for the book. Owen created all the graphic design on the site.
I am so glad we are on this new journey and all because of Wes. I love him with all my heart and would literally throw myself in front of a bus for him. This journey has also brought the most amazing people into our lives. We may have lost some friends, but for each person I have lost, I have gained more as we walk into this new space of being open allies.
Below is the link to the website where you can get the ebook for free!
And here is a link to the podcast we did with Richard: