THE INHERITANCE OF SHAME
A gripping true story of “conversion therapy” trauma, resilience and one man’s fight to reclaim his identity
ABOUT THE BOOK
At twenty-three, Peter Gajdics entered what he thought was therapy. What followed was six harrowing years of forced “conversion” under the control of a rogue psychiatrist, a man who used primal scream sessions, psychiatric drugs and cult-like tactics to try to erase Peter’s homosexuality.
Isolated in a makeshift group home with other patients, Peter was pressured to reject his real parents, obey “Daddy” and “Mommy” figures, and suppress every trace of his true identity. As the therapy spiraled into psychological and physical abuse, Peter fought to survive, escape and ultimately seek justice.
The Inheritance of Shame is a haunting and deeply personal memoir of conversion therapy and its devastating aftermath — but it’s also a story of strength. Juxtaposed with his parents’ hidden traumas — his mother’s escape from a post-WWII concentration camp in Yugoslavia and his father’s upbringing as a war orphan in Hungary — Peter’s journey reveals the inherited legacy of shame that shaped his life.
Spanning continents and decades, this memoir explores generational trauma, resilience, gay identity and the healing power of truth. The Inheritance of Shame is a raw and courageous account of one man’s fight to reclaim his sense of self— and a testament to the enduring strength of the human spirit.
Winner of the Independent Book Publisher Award, Finalist for the Randy Shilts Award for Gay Nonfiction and the Saints and Sinners Emerging Writer Award.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Peter Gajdics (pronounced "Guy-ditch") is an award-winning writer whose essays, short memoir and poetry have appeared in, among others, The Advocate, New York Tyrant, The Gay and Lesbian Review / Worldwide, Cosmonauts Avenue, and Opium. He is a recipient of a writers grant from Canada Council for the Arts, a fellowship from The Summer Literary Seminars, and an alumni of Lambda Literary Foundation’s “Writers Retreat for Emerging LGBT Voices.” When not in Budapest, Hungary, his home away from home, Peter lives in Vancouver, Canada. This is his first book.
PRAISE FOR THE BOOK
“Deeply moving.”
— The Advocate
“Reflective but passionate, Gajdics takes the reader on an exploration beyond the what of his experience as a young, conflicted gay man and deeply into the chasm of his search to discover who he was... This exploration is a hero’s journey in which any reader, gay or straight, can find inspiration.”
— Lambda Literary Foundation
“Raw and unflinching: a powerful argument against conversion therapy as well as the healing power of memoir.”
— Kirkus Reviews
“In a book that celebrates and embodies the power of the medium of writing in a pure way, Gajdics uses the written word to heal from trauma, to reconcile with his parents, to unearth their own suffering in WWII, and as an unforgettable call for compassion. His passionate writing makes the book not only an intriguing read but an important one in the literary and political realms.”
— Foreword Reviews
“The Inheritance of Shame is a profound journey to self-destruction, self-acceptance, and finally a reckoning with the dangers of shame and silence. This is a memoir that is hard to read, but one that must absolutely be read.”
— KQED book review
“Peter Gajdics carries us along effortlessly on his incredible struggle with family rejection, loss of self and ultimate recovery from the deep wounds inflicted by anti-gay ‘therapy.’ At this time of immense suffering for LGBTQ+ youth around the world, his emergence from shame should give hope for healing to all victims of this destructive practice.”
— Jason Marsden, Executive Director, Matthew Shepard Foundation
“The Inheritance of Shame provides an in-depth account of the triumph of one man’s sanity over a psychotherapy system designed to eradicate personhood. Particularly moving were passages of Gajdics’ fondness for the very therapist who abused him, a kind of Stockholm syndrome most survivors of conversion therapy have experienced. A necessary, incredibly nuanced portrait of a survivor, The Inheritance of Shame will change lives.”
— Garrard Conley, author of Boy Erased
“The Inheritance of Shame is a harrowing, enraging, triumphant, and necessary book. This is a story that should never have happened, but because the horrors of homophobia continue in this country and around the world, we need the testimony of people with the courage of Peter Gajdics.”
— Ellen Bass, co-author of The Courage to Heal
“Peter Gajdics’ multi-faceted memoir offers help for abuse survivors and those who care about them. He provides inside perspective on the many effects of childhood sexual abuse, including the way societal, religious, and familial homophobia and denial became internalized and made a young man vulnerable to a destructive ‘therapeutic’ cult. His healing speaks to the power and fortitude of the human spirit. The Inheritance of Shame is both about damage and healing. This is a work of love.”
— Mike Lew, author of Victims No Longer: The Classic Guide for Men Recovering from Sexual Child Abuse
“The Inheritance of Shame is a testament to one family’s ability to survive oppression in its many forms... Through unrelenting prose, his words provide a home for his orphaned father, tortured mother, and most importantly, his own identity that others wanted to drug, demonize, and destroy.”
— Kate Gray, author of Carry the Sky
“Cults come in many forms and unfortunately those who want to be normal sometimes become victims of these cults. The book focuses on the triumph of the human spirit and shows how everyone may be different in some ways but no one is born to be what others think they should be. At the end, be yourself and be happier is the theme of the book.”
— Bev Sellars, bestselling author of They Called Me Number One
“A shocking, crystal-clear, unsettling book. The Inheritance of Shame is both a necessary and devastating memoir about the trauma of conversion therapy and the homophobia that persists to this day.”
— Daniel Zomparelli, author of Everything is Awful and You’re a Terrible Person
“I couldn’t put this book down.”
— Claire Slack, Educator
