Daughter of Focus on the Family Executive Unmasks Her Coming Out Story
Interview Opportunity: Amber Cantorna
Growing up in the conservative church and its aftermath
LGBTQ, Religion, Family, Youth, Parenting and Suicide
Exposing the harm of LGBTQ Family rejection
In her upcoming memoir, "Refocusing My Family," Amber Cantorna unveils what it was like to be raised in the epi-center of Christian family values and how coming out as gay tore that paradigm apart, shunned her from her family, and burdened her with a degree of devastation that nearly took her life. With grace and transparency, Amber's book sheds light on the harm that religious and family rejection reeks on the human soul, and offers to LGBTQ people and their religious families, a better way to love. Amber's story of survival releases October 1st, 2017 from Fortress Press.
In support of her memoir, Amber will embark on a nation-wide speaking and book tour of over 20 cities this October to spread a message of truth, hope, and survival in the midst of a "new" historical divide between progressive and conservative perspectives. For media inquires, interviews, and event booking, contact Amber directly at the email address provided below.
"'Refocusing My Family' is releasing at a critical time in our nation's history. Now, more than ever, we need the voices of LGBTQ Christians to rise up. 'Refocusing My Family' humanizes this hot political topic and brings it down from a theological debate to a very personal level that people can relate to. The goal in sharing this true and heartbreaking story is to lend strength and hope to others wrestling in the closet of conservative faith communities and call attention to the crucial need for acceptance and inclusion from their family, peers, and loved ones. The suicide statistics related to LGBTQ people that come from rejecting families is over 32x higher than that of their straight peers. Having barely survived these odds, I feel compelled to speak up and expose the truth of my own Focus on the Family upbringing in order to increase awareness and invoke the pressing need to transform our culture and repair the damage being done to LGBTQ people in the name of God. I believe that embedded in my identity is a responsibility to be a voice for change, and the time for change is now."
-Amber Cantorna, National Speaker and Author of "Refocusing My Family"
About Amber: Amber is the founder and president of Beyond, a non-profit organization providing support to LGBTQ people as they navigate their coming out process. She is a sought-after speaker and musician, and blogs at AmberCantorna.com. Amber has been featured in The Denver Post, Out Front Colorado, Huffington Post's Religion column, Publisher's Weekly, and other writing mediums. She has been interviewed on multiple podcasts including Benjamin L. Corey "That God Show," Cass Midgley's "Everyone's Agnostic," and Ken Schneck's "This Show is So Gay."
"No amount of theological posturing has the power of a story well told, and Amber Cantorna's 'Refocusing My Family' is a beautiful narrative of the journey from torment and shame to authenticity and hope. Wherever you find yourself in the LGBTQ debate, this book will get you thinking about what really matters." -Rev. Dr.
Paula Stone Williams, National Transgender Advocate and Former Editor-at-Large – Christian Standard Magazine
Statistic: Lesbian, gay and bisexual youth are 400% more likely to attempt suicide than their straight peers. More disturbingly, LGBTQ youth who come from highly rejecting families are 840% more likely to attempt suicide than their LGBTQ peers who report no or low levels of family rejection (The Trevor Project).
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