Soulfully Gay


Book Description

Soulfully Gay is a personal memoir of an intellectually rigorous gay man wrestling with fundamental issues of meaning and self-acceptance. Joe Perez finds himself on a quest to understand what it means to be gay at the intersection of conflicts between homosexuality and Christianity, faith and skepticism, mysticism and madness. His journey unfolds amid challenges to his health as a recovering addict, a survivor of a psychotic episode, and a man living with AIDS. Joe is able to integrate seemingly contradictory elements—his Roman Catholic upbringing versus his openly gay lifestyle, his authentic mystical experiences versus the delusions for which he was hospitalized. With a solid understanding of theology and an ability to see through the veils of political correctness, Joe brings a new level of intellect and understanding to the challenges of being a gay man.




God Vs. Gay?


Book Description

The myth that the Bible forbids homosexuality is behind some of the most divisive and painful conflicts of our day. Michaelson shows that not only does the Bible not prohibit same-sex intimacy, but the vast majority of its teachings support the full equality and dignity of gay and lesbian people.




Rising Up


Book Description

Joe Perez looks at the common issues facing gays in personal, cultural, social, and political dimensions within a "theory of everything" called STEAM. Building on the work of integral theorists including Ken Wilber, Don Beck, and Jim Marion, Perez shows how STEAM can build bridges across the divides. The topics include responding to religious conservatives; why liberals and conservatives alike miss the big picture; how to make HIV/AIDS prevention efforts more effective; how to renew faith, purpose, and dedication to truth.




The Soulful Art of Persuasion


Book Description

WALL STREET JOURNAL, LOS ANGELES TIMES, AND PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BESTSELLER • The Soulful Art of Persuasion is a revolutionary guide to becoming a master influencer in an age of distrust through the cultivation of character-building habits that are essential to both personal growth and sustained business success. This isn’t a book full of tips and life-hacks. Instead, The Soulful Art of Persuasion will develop the habits that others want to be influenced by. This book is based on a radical idea: Persuasion isn’t about facts and argument. It’s all about personal character. Jason Harris, CEO of the powerhouse creative agency Mekanism, argues that genuine persuasion in the twenty-first century is about developing character rather than relying on the easy tactics of flattery, manipulation, and short-term gains. It is about engaging rather than insisting; it is about developing empathy and communicating your values. Based on his experience in and out of the boardroom, and drawing on the latest in-depth research on trust, influence, and habit formation, Harris shows that being persuasive in a culture plagued by deception means rejecting the ethos of the quick and embracing the commitment of putting your truest self forward and playing the long game.




Breakdown


Book Description

Advance praise for Breakdown "Breakdown takes the reader on a journey of growth and transformation through an often overlooked path--demonstrating how the shadow side of life can be a vehicle to enlightenment. Extremely honest and personal, it shines a poignant eye on the struggles of a high-powered job in New York's glitz and glamour scene and the darkness of addiction. Through it all, this illuminating adventure offers a fresh and hopeful point of view to the meaning of life in these troubled times." --Steve Kammon, Editor, Circuit Noize magazine Greg DiStefano has spent a decade on the fringes of the limelight, brushing up against the famous and the infamous in the shadowy underbelly of New York's nightclub scene. It all looks promising--until Greg's bizarre encounter with the prophetic Spiros forces him to reexamine his perception of reality. Propelled by a string of serendipitous events, Greg and Spiros wind their way across the Middle East and India, interacting with a series of seers, sages, and spiritual masters. Troubled by America's soulless culture, internal conflicts, and the meaninglessness of his star-studded dream job, Greg breaks down. Stripped of everything that defines his identity, only a terrifying leap into the unknown can save him. While chronicling dizzying celebrity heights and floor-crawling lows, Breakdown blends elements of religion, philosophy, metaphysics, and sexuality into popular language. A testimonial to the indomitable human spirit, this coming-of-age tale provides hope, deeper meaning, and an opportunity for transformation. Breakdown... find yourself Five Percent of the author's royalties will be donated to Hale House--America's best-known independent facility for addicted babies in Harlem.




Loving Our Own Bones


Book Description

A transformative spiritual companion and deep dive into disability politics that reimagines disability in the Bible and contemporary culture An essential read that will foster and enrich conversations about disability, spirituality, and social justice “What’s wrong with you?” Scholar, activist, and rabbi Julia Watts Belser is all too familiar with this question. What’s wrong isn’t her wheelchair, though—it’s exclusion, objectification, pity, and disdain. Our attitudes about disability have such deep cultural roots that we almost forget their sources. But open the Bible and disability is everywhere. Moses believes his stutter renders him unable to answer God’s call. Jacob’s encounter with an angel leaves him changed not just spiritually but physically: he gains a limp. For centuries, these stories have been told and retold in ways that treat disability as a metaphor for spiritual incapacity or as a challenge to be overcome. Through fresh and unexpected readings of the Bible, Loving Our Own Bones instead paints a luminous portrait of what it means to be disabled and one of God’s beloved. Belser delves deep into sacred literature, braiding the insights of disabled, feminist, Black, and queer thinkers with her own experiences as a queer disabled Jewish feminist. She talks back to biblical commentators who traffic in disability stigma and shame. What unfolds is a profound gift of disability wisdom, a radical act of spiritual imagination that can guide us all toward a powerful reckoning with each other and with our bodies. Loving Our Own Bones invites readers to claim the power and promise of spiritual dissent, and to nourish their own souls through the revolutionary art of radical self-love.




The #BlackLivesMatter Movement


Book Description

This work focuses on the implicit theological aspects of the #BlackLivesMatter movement. It examines, in conversation with theologians, the movement’s early published tenets in order to determine their implicit God claims. The study, conducted by a Pentecostal bishop, puts Black Liberation, Womanist, and Queer Liberation theologies in conversation with the praxis of the movement. An ecumenical group of Black pastors from across the United States met in an effort to determine the viability of the God claims of the movement in the life of the Black Church. As the research progressed, a new theological expression emerged as the real praxis of the movement; i.e., intersectional theology. This study project concludes with an exposition of the main points of this intersectional theology.




Vantanahon


Book Description

Voeller's prose is both poetic and robust, taking readers on a heightened, hypnotic journey that complements the surreal, dreamlike nature of the world the characters inhabit. The book's first 30 pages are particularly excellent, composed of very short chapters, as each character presents him- or herself with a short, first-person introduction. This results in a rich tapestry, similar in form to a documentary. Voeller steeps this story of life on a terraformed planet in the spiritualism of ancient Sanskrit culture, which contrasts intriguingly against the futurism of nanotechnology. Powerful is his depiction of a society in which all sexualities are embraced and fully integrated. Voeller does a commendable job of developing a rather unique sci-fi landscape that blends ancient mysticism, surrealism, futuristic tech and even queer theory in a literary mélange. -Kirkus Indie Reviews In Vanatanahon, Peter Voeller has created an alternative reality and a parable of apocalypse and renewal. The title refers to the story's setting: an imperiled world inhabited by psychic natives, specter-like beings, and animals. Although set on an alien world, Vantanahon successfully uses familiar human artifacts ranging from the Sanskrit language to science-fiction concepts such as nanotechnology and interplanetary colonization. Overall, it's a fast read and an enjoyable, thought-provoking ride. -Joe Perez, author of "Soulfully Gay" and Writer/Owner of Writing Wolf. "Complex and completely absorbing...Vantanahon is the kind of story that not only leads to you to think, but invites you to imagine." -Virginia Lore, author of Northwest Exposure! and Absurdities.




Pray the Gay Away


Book Description

2013 Finalist for the Lambda Literary Awards, LGBT Studies category Barton argues that conventional Southern manners and religious institutions provide a foundation for homophobia in the Bible Belt In the Bible Belt, it’s common to see bumper stickers that claim One Man + One Woman = Marriage, church billboards that command one to “Get right with Jesus,” letters to the editor comparing gay marriage to marrying one’s dog, and nightly news about homophobic attacks from the Family Foundation. While some areas of the Unites States have made tremendous progress in securing rights for gay people, Bible Belt states lag behind. Not only do most Bible Belt gays lack domestic partner benefits, lesbians and gay men can still be fired from some places of employment in many regions of the Bible Belt for being a homosexual. In Pray the Gay Away, Bernadette Barton argues that conventions of small town life, rules which govern Southern manners, and the power wielded by Christian institutions serve as a foundation for both passive and active homophobia in the Bible Belt. She explores how conservative Christian ideology reproduces homophobic attitudes and shares how Bible Belt gays negotiate these attitudes in their daily lives. Drawing on the remarkable stories of Bible Belt gays, Barton brings to the fore their thoughts, experiences and hard-won insights to explore the front lines of our national culture war over marriage, family, hate crimes, and equal rights. Pray the Gay Away illuminates their lives as both foot soldiers and casualties in the battle for gay rights.




OK2BG


Book Description

OK2BG is narrative nonfiction, a Memoir about a guy who wants to be a Mentor preferably to a teenager, so they can have a decent & meaningful conversation about stuff & preferably with a kid at-risk, or just otherwise lost, in order to help both the teenager as well as the determined subject of this story realize their unique potential & find or reinforce their place in the world. Overall, a chronicle about the author’s attempt over several years to understand the question of ‘why do I want to be a Mentor’ which eventually helps him become a more insightful person. Subsequently in September, 2010 after a plague of teen suicides, Jack turns his attention to researching gay biographies into optimistically appropriate groups of books for gay kids at-risk, from bullying. After 5 years Jack has categorized 2,000+ books in the form of Memoirs, Biographies & Autobiographies written by or about 1,000+ allegedly gay men. The primary message in OK2BG is to read & reassess before you run asunder!