Memoir · Book club
Boy Erased: A Memoir book club questions
Here are 12 book club questions for Boy Erased: A Memoir by Garrard Conley, ordered to open easily and end somewhere worth arguing about. Copy them, print them, or bring them up one at a time.
Boy Erased is Garrard Conley's memoir of attending Love in Action, a conversion therapy program in Memphis, Tennessee, in the early 2000s.
Garrard Conley · 2016 · 5h 20m
Full summary and key takeaways →The 12 questions
- 1.
Conley's parents acted from love. Does their motivation change your assessment of the harm they participated in?
- 2.
The conversion therapy program is run by people who genuinely believe it works. What does the book suggest about the relationship between sincerity and harm?
- 3.
How does Conley use the Love in Action workbook structurally? What does that formal choice make possible that a straightforward narrative would not?
- 4.
Conley's father eventually affirmed his son. How does that arc affect the book's emotional resolution — does it feel earned or convenient?
- 5.
The assault that preceded Conley's enrollment is handled carefully but is central to the book. How does the institution's response to it shape the rest of the narrative?
- 6.
What does Boy Erased suggest about the relationship between small-town religious communities and individual identity — what is given and what is taken?
- 7.
Conley remained in the program longer than he had to, partly from love for his parents. How do you understand that choice?
- 8.
The book is set in the early 2000s. Conversion therapy bans have spread across many states since then. Does that progress change how you read the memoir?
- 9.
Which relationship in the book — with parents, with program participants, with the program leaders — felt most complex to you?
- 10.
How does Conley handle writing about his own faith? Does he retain it, lose it, transform it — and how does the book make that visible?
- 11.
The memoir deliberately withholds some details — particularly around the assault. Is that a narrative choice you found right or frustrating?
- 12.
What does Boy Erased suggest about how institutions protect themselves at the expense of individuals?
How to run the discussion
- Pick six to eight, not all of them. An hour of real discussion covers fewer questions than anyone expects, and racing the list is what makes a book club feel like homework.
- Open with what people noticed, not what they concluded. Asking for a verdict first hardens opinions before anyone has heard each other.
- Let the disagreement run. The questions below that split a room are the ones worth the time; the ones everyone answers the same way can be skipped.
- Ask the quiet person a specific question. A direct, narrow question is far easier to answer than an open invitation to contribute.
Themes worth steering toward
If the conversation stalls, these are the threads that usually restart it.
Common questions
What are good book club questions for Boy Erased: A Memoir?
Here are 12 book club questions for Boy Erased: A Memoir by Garrard Conley, ordered to open easily and end somewhere worth arguing about. The strongest openers ask what each reader noticed rather than what they concluded, and the discussion usually turns on identity, religion, family.
How long should a book club discussion of Boy Erased: A Memoir last?
Most groups run 60 to 90 minutes of actual discussion. That is roughly six to eight questions, not all of them, so pick the ones that suit your group rather than working down the list in order.
What are the main themes in Boy Erased: A Memoir?
Identity, Religion, Family, Conversion therapy, Coming of age. Those are the threads most likely to divide a room, which makes them the useful places to steer a discussion that has gone quiet.
Picking the next one? See books like Boy Erased: A Memoir or questions for other book club picks.
