The Education of Joshua Chastain: A Gay Mormon Memoir

The Education of Joshua Chastain is a fictional memoir about a gay boy who grows up in a small Mormon community in northern Arizona, a kind of Mormon shtetl. The novel describes Josh's journey of self-discovery as he explores his sexuality, engages in various sexual relationships during his teenage years (including one with a Roman Catholic priest), and endures verbal and sometimes physical abuse from teachers and classmates.

After a high school bully outs him, his parents send him to a clinic in Phoenix run by a Mormon psychologist who specializes in "curing" homosexuals. He escapes from the clinic and flees to Los Angeles, where he lives for a time with a deeply closeted Vietnam veteran who can be both loving and abusive. After their relationship ends, he supports himself briefly as a prostitute. Permeating Joshua’s story is his desire to remain a person of faith while overcoming the homophobia of his Mormon background.