Randy Scobey’s memoir, WHY, leaves no room for lingering questions. It unravels the intricacies of an extraordinary life. As a troubled gay homeless teen, he was rescued by a drag queen, who, as Randy puts it, “saved his life”. Without that intervention, his life could have been tragically different, as often happens with homeless LGBTQ youth.

Unhappy about his excesses and lifestyle, he turns to Christianity for change. And this is where it gets really interesting. He ascends the ranks of the “ex-gay” movement and becomes the Vice President of the largest organisation in “pray the gay away” movement, and  led campaigns against the LGBTQ community rights. Like the majority of us, eventually Randy realises no one changes from gay to straight and enormous harm is being done. Now living as an openly proud, married, gay man, WHY is one of his ways of making amends for those years.

WHY is honest, heartfelt and, at times, raw. Considering people are still preaching the “change is possible” message, we can never have enough of “it doesn’t work” stories. As a former leader of the movement, Randy’s contribution to that genre is an important one.

This work is intensely relevant to a variety of audiences; religious conservatives, the queer community, families and allies, and ex-gay/reparative/conversion “therapy” survivors.