''Prayers for Bobby: A Mother's Coming to Terms with the Suicide of Her Gay Son'' is a book by Leroy F. Aarons that outlines a mother's experience in coming to terms with the

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

of her

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

son. On January 24, 2009, the TV film ''

Prayers for Bobby ''Prayers for Bobby'' is a televised drama film that premiered on the Lifetime network on January 24, 2009. The film is based on the book of the same name by Leroy F. Aarons, which is itself based on the true story of the life and legacy of B ...

'', an adaptation of the book starring

Sigourney Weaver Susan Alexandra "Sigourney" Weaver (; born October 8, 1949) is an American actress. A figure in science fiction and popular culture, she has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Gram ...

and

Ryan Kelley Ryan Jonathan Kelley (born August 31, 1986) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in ''Mean Creek'', ''Prayers for Bobby'', as Ben Tennyson in '' Ben 10: Alien Swarm'', and as Deputy Jordan Parrish on ''Teen Wolf''. Early life Kelle ...

in the title role as Bobby, was shown on the

Lifetime Lifetime may refer to: * Life expectancy, the length of time a person is expected to remain alive Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Lifetime (band), a rock band from New Jersey * ''Life Time'' (Rollins Band album), by Rollins Band * ...

cable network.

Book summary

This book illustrates the story of Mary Griffith and her ordeal with her gay son, Robert Warren, known as Bobby. Her Christian intolerance and hard-nosed indoctrination leads him to despise who he is and ultimately he dies by suicide in 1983. Mary begins to question her faith because Bobby had killed himself and wonders what will happen to his

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

. After some soul-searching of her own, she comes to the harsh realization that nothing was wrong with Bobby in God's eyes. She later becomes an advocate for

gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , 3 ...

in memory of her son. This story contains excerpts of Bobby's

diary A diary is a written or audiovisual record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally been handwritten but are now also often digital. A personal ...

throughout the book to illustrate his feelings and point of view.

Development

In 1989, Leroy Aarons read a newspaper story about a young man's suicide. Particularly striking to him was the mother, Mary Griffith, who had tried throughout her son's adolescence to "pray away" his "gay nature". At age 20, Bobby Griffith jumped to his death from a freeway bridge in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

. Mary was transformed by her loss and eventually renounced the rigid religious beliefs that had kept her from fully accepting Bobby during his lifetime. The Griffiths' story resonated with Aarons' own transformation as an openly gay journalist and activist. After Bobby's death, his mother became an iconic activist for the national association

PFLAG PFLAG is the United States' first and largest organization uniting parents, families, and allies with people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+). PFLAG National is the national organization, which provides support to ...

, urging parents to understand and accept their children's homosexuality. "This extraordinary conversion touched me as deeply as the tale of Bobby's tragic death," Aarons wrote. "What enabled her to transcend her background and perform what could only be described as acts of courage." After leaving daily journalism in 1991, Aarons began to explore the Griffiths' stories in depth. ''Prayers for Bobby: A Mother's Coming to Terms with the Suicide of Her Gay Son'' — Aarons' first book — was published by

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...

in 1995.

References

{{reflist American biographies HarperCollins books 1995 non-fiction books Books about depression Books about suicide Gay non-fiction books Biographies about LGBT people 1990s LGBT literature LGBT literature in the United States

Book summary

Development

See also

References