He Came Out at 13. They Sent Him Away. | Joey O’Donnell

Joey O’Donnell grew up in central Phoenix, raised by his Pentecostal minister grandparents. They built over 30 churches across the valley. They ran food banks. They took in every kid in the neighborhood. They were, by every measure, people of deep and active faith.When Joey came out at 13, they sent him to a facility in Texas they told him was a visit to cousins. It was a conversion therapy center. He was placed alongside people being treated for drug addiction and sexual disorders. He was 13 years old. He figured out what he needed to say to get out, went home, got a girlfriend, and performed being straight for the next three years.What Joey didn’t know until years later was the story of his Uncle George. George was his grandfather’s brother, a man who spoke five languages but stuttered and shuffled when he walked. The family said he’d been hit in the head during his medical residency. At George’s funeral, Joey learned the truth: George had been caught in bed with another man in the 1940s, and his own mother had him lobotomized.In this conversation, Joey talks about what it’s like to grow up performing faith while hiding yourself, the moment a woman walked down the aisle and confronted his pastor, how a chance encounter at a Circle K at 16 changed his life, and what 30 years with his partner Fredrik have taught him about love, forgiveness and building a life on your own terms.Follow At the Brink: Instagram @at.the.brink.media | YouTube @AtTheBrinkPodcastwww.atthebrinkmedia.com | [email protected] producer: Sara GlassmanHere you go:At the Brink is a premium podcast hosted by Erica Brinker featuring raw, intimate conversations about defining moments — the question at the show's core: was there a moment when your story split into a before and after?New episodes every Wednesday.Website: www.atthebrinkmedia.com Email: [email protected] Instagram: @at.the.brink.mediaExecutive producer | Sara Glassman Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.