Naudus was raised in Virginia in what she calls “an extremely Christian homeschooling cult.”
Despite her religious upbringing, Naudus has embraced her life as a queer woman and managed to find both joy and love.
She recently released her debut novel, Gay the Pray Away, drawing from her own life and experiences.
“I really wanted to reach out to my younger self, and baby Queers, and say You are good. You are beautiful. You deserve to be loved,” Naudus told AFP.
Naudus has narrated hundreds of audio books, but her Gay the Pray Away book is the first title that she written and published.
“You know, I’ve tried writing several books before, but I never took them to completion,” said Naudus. “It just felt like this was the book I had to write, the one I had things I wanted to say about.”
The book is geared toward young adults and reinforces that despite what some religious people may preach, Naudus said, you are not a bad person simply because you are queer or bisexual.
In a world where public schools are banning books with LGBTQ+ themes and even threatening librarians with criminal charges, Naudus is one voice that isn’t afraid to push the envelope.
“If anyone needs to rip the cover off or cover it (her book) up to get it in the hands of those who need to read it, I support,” Naudus said.
As part of her religious upbringing, as a young adult, she was on the front lines picketing abortion clinics and opposing gay rights.
“I know how insular that world is, and how deeply people believe they are doing what is right, even as they are being so hateful and hurtful.”
The response to her book has been overwhelmingly positive with readers reaching out to thank her for her courage writing it.
“I’ve read so much Queer fiction, and I hadn’t read a book that really unpacked religious trauma, and what a mind fuck it is, even though most of my Queer friends have religious trauma of some kind,” Naudus said.
“I just wanted to really sit with it and take an honest look at how hurtful it is, but also approach it in a hopeful way, to look towards how bright and beautiful life can still be.”
She wishes a book like hers had been available to read as a young adult and hopes her book resonates with other youth exploring their own sexuality.
“I hope you don’t settle for counterfeit love that tells you that you are sinful and wrong and need to change to be accepted,” Naudus said. “Real love accepts and supports and celebrates.
“You deserve to be loved like that.”
Book signing
Naudus will read from her debut young adult novel, Gay the Pray Away, on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the New Dominion Bookshop on the Downtown Mall in Charlottesville.
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In the midst of national book bans, Natalie Naudus shows no fear with queer theme
Published date: July 9, 2024 | 12:44 pm
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Crystal Graham
