--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I know one gay ex-Mormon who is a…" description: "\"I know one gay ex-Mormon who is a talented, self-destructive alcoholic. Whenever he is drunk and going on a tear, we are back to the Mormon Church and ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a9/andrew-solomon-1140_alcoholics_i-know-one-gay-ex-mormon-who-is-a-talent_1520816.jpg" --- # I know one gay ex-Mormon who is a talented… ![“I know one gay ex-Mormon who is a talented, self-destructive alcoholic. Whenever he is drunk and going on a tear, we are back to the Mormon Church and his being thrown out of the Mormon Church and growing up with this sense of being evil.” quote by Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a9/andrew-solomon-1140_alcoholics_i-know-one-gay-ex-mormon-who-is-a-talent_1520816.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a9/andrew-solomon-1140_alcoholics_i-know-one-gay-ex-mormon-who-is-a-talent_1520816.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a9/andrew-solomon-1140_alcoholics_i-know-one-gay-ex-mormon-who-is-a-talent_1520816.jpg) > “I know one gay ex-Mormon who is a talented, self-destructive alcoholic. Whenever he is drunk and going on a tear, we are back to the Mormon Church and his being thrown out of the Mormon Church and growing up with this sense of being evil.” [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A gay ex‑Mormon struggles with self‑destruction, feeling condemned by his former faith. **In simple terms:** Identity conflict fuels self‑harm. Key Takeaway Seek supportive community. Themes identity religion mental health addiction Mood empathetic somber Type personal educational When to use this quote - counseling sessions - faith‑based outreach - peer support groups - recovery programs Key Concepts psychology social stigma Questions to Reflect On - How can communities reduce stigma? - What resources aid healing? A Different Perspective Stigma can hinder recovery and self‑acceptance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alcoholic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alcoholic/) [Alcoholics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alcoholics/) [Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church/) [Destructive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destructive/) [Destructive Alcoholic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destructive-alcoholic-5620495/) [Drunk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drunk/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Ex Mormon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ex-mormon-5620497/) [Exes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exes/) [Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gay/) [Growing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing/) [Growing up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing-up/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Mormon Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mormon-church-1396457/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self destructive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-destructive/) [Tear Mormon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tear-mormon-5620496/) [Tears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tears/) [Thrown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thrown/) ## Related quotes > [I have two nexuses of sadness about the Mormon Church. The first is the effect the Church's position on homosexuality has on Mormons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/i-have-two-nexuses-of-sadness-about-the-mormon-church-the-first-is/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [The thing that makes me really outraged, is the idea that the Mormon Church would presume to get involved in decisions that have little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/the-thing-that-makes-me-really-outraged-is-the-idea-that-the-mormon/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [Religion is so focused on family. These days, for many people, being gay is also focused on family. The Mormon Church is especially focused…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/religion-is-so-focused-on-family-these-days-for-many-people-being-gay/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [If you don't want to have gay weddings in Mormon churches, that's fine. That's absolutely up to the members of the faith or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/if-you-don-t-want-to-have-gay-weddings-in-mormon-churches-that-s-fine/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [It does seem to me, though, that there is a difference between the Mormon Church saying, "We don't accept gay people within the Church;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/it-does-seem-to-me-though-that-there-is-a-difference-between-the/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [If the Mormon Church still supported polygamy, and if it appeared to be a system that was not exploitative of women, I wouldn't feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/if-the-mormon-church-still-supported-polygamy-and-if-it-appeared-to/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [A large proportion of my best friends are a little bit crazy. ... I try to be cautious with my friends who are too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/a-large-proportion-of-my-best-friends-are-a-little-bit-crazy-i-try-to/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [I hope the Church will examine what is good and what is ill, and what good could be achieved by getting the suicidal, self-destructive,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/i-hope-the-church-will-examine-what-is-good-and-what-is-ill-and-what/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [Most of my family is still active in the Mormon Church. They live in Utah and Provo and Orem and Salt Lake City.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dustin-lance-black/most-of-my-family-is-still-active-in-the-mormon-church-they-live-in/) [Dustin Lance Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dustin-lance-black/) > [You know, growing up Mormon, I always got the sense that it was hard for the leaders of the church to feel like they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dustin-lance-black/you-know-growing-up-mormon-i-always-got-the-sense-that-it-was-hard/) [Dustin Lance Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dustin-lance-black/) > [I do believe that the Mormon Church is at kind of an awakening, in two different ways: More people are becoming aware of it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wilmore/i-do-believe-that-the-mormon-church-is-at-kind-of-an-awakening-in-two/) [Larry Wilmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wilmore/) > [What's unique about the Mormon Church is that it encourages inquiry. I really do think my research and religion are all on the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-m-christensen/what-s-unique-about-the-mormon-church-is-that-it-encourages-inquiry-i/) [Clayton M. Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-m-christensen/) > [In the Mormon Church, we believe we can be married for all eternity, not till death do you part. As Mom was getting older,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-m-christensen/in-the-mormon-church-we-believe-we-can-be-married-for-all-eternity/) [Clayton M. Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-m-christensen/) > [In the early days of the Mormon Church, stewardship toward the land was a priority. It was a matter of survival in the desert.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/in-the-early-days-of-the-mormon-church-stewardship-toward-the-land/) [Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/) > [I grew up in the Mormon Church and I have a very strange relationship with that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dustin-lance-black/i-grew-up-in-the-mormon-church-and-i-have-a-very-strange-relationship/) [Dustin Lance Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dustin-lance-black/) ## More by Andrew Solomon > [“If you banish the dragons, you banish the heroes...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/if-you-banish-the-dragons-you-banish-the-heroes/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [I started traveling out of curiosity, but I have come to believe in travel's political importance, that encouraging a nation's citizenry to travel may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/i-started-traveling-out-of-curiosity-but-i-have-come-to-believe-in/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [When I was born, the wisdom was that homosexuality was an illness; that it was caused largely by somebody's mother, and a distorted relationship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/when-i-was-born-the-wisdom-was-that-homosexuality-was-an-illness-that/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [A lot of people are very political when they are young, and then they outgrow it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/a-lot-of-people-are-very-political-when-they-are-young-and-then-they/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [Having always imagined myself in a fairly slim minority, I suddenly saw that I was in a vast company. Difference unites us. While each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/having-always-imagined-myself-in-a-fairly-slim-minority-i-suddenly/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [If your love didn't always contain the possibility of loss, it would be very different from human love as we know it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/if-your-love-didn-t-always-contain-the-possibility-of-loss-it-would/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [Antonin Artaud wrote on one of his drawings, "Never real and always true," and that is how depression feels. You know that it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/antonin-artaud-wrote-on-one-of-his-drawings-never-real-and-always/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [I met people on college campuses who were defining themselves as genderqueer to express revolutionary feelings, or to communicate their individuality; they were gender…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/i-met-people-on-college-campuses-who-were-defining-themselves-as/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [“In the throws of depression, one reaches a strange point at which it is impossible to see the line between ones own theatricality and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/in-the-throws-of-depression-one-reaches-a-strange-point-at-which-it/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [“Since I am writing a book about depression, I am often asked in social situations to describe my own experiences, and I usually end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/since-i-am-writing-a-book-about-depression-i-am-often-asked-in-social/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [Loving our own children is an exercise for the imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/loving-our-own-children-is-an-exercise-for-the-imagination/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [One the one hand, the simple fact that there are children and that I do have an effect on them has been one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/one-the-one-hand-the-simple-fact-that-there-are-children-and-that-i/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [I grew up feeling that to be gay was a tragedy. I didn't grow up thinking that it was morally wrong, but I grew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/i-grew-up-feeling-that-to-be-gay-was-a-tragedy-i-didn-t-grow-up/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [We need to acknowledge that families come in multiple shapes and sizes, that love is not a finite asset, and that caregiving involves more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/we-need-to-acknowledge-that-families-come-in-multiple-shapes-and/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [I had always wanted to have children, so it caused me a lot of grief when I was younger, and I had supposed that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/i-had-always-wanted-to-have-children-so-it-caused-me-a-lot-of-grief/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) [Explore all 282 Andrew Solomon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) ## More Alcoholic quotes > [“I'm an alcoholic, Tara.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaci-burton/i-m-an-alcoholic-tara/) [Jaci Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaci-burton/) > [“Alcoholism is a choice... not a life sentence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-norman/alcoholism-is-a-choice-not-a-life-sentence/) [David Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-norman/) > [If you decide on having an alcoholic at your party, make sure it's a large gathering. This way, until the alcoholic begins removing their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sedaris/if-you-decide-on-having-an-alcoholic-at-your-party-make-sure-it-s-a/) [Amy Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sedaris/) > [I started drinking when I was like 15, and by the time I was 19 everybody knew I was an alcoholic. So I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felipe-esparza/i-started-drinking-when-i-was-like-15-and-by-the-time-i-was-19/) [Felipe Esparza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felipe-esparza/) > [Booze is my escape from reality,If your a drinker,You understand,I'm a Alcoholic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becka-miller/booze-is-my-escape-from-reality-if-your-a-drinker-you-understand-i-m/) [Becka Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becka-miller/) > [There are plenty of alcoholics who can be magnificent when drunk: it does not make them any less alcoholic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-bengis/there-are-plenty-of-alcoholics-who-can-be-magnificent-when-drunk-it/) [Ingrid Bengis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-bengis/) > [“Medical research has revealed that in about one-tenth of the population, the liver processes alcohol differently, releasing a chemical messenger that creates the craving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaylie-jones/medical-research-has-revealed-that-in-about-one-tenth-of-the/) [Kaylie Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaylie-jones/) > [“The alcoholic retains the ability to condemn his addiction and advise those not subject to it to avoid succumbing to the liquid poison. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pitigrilli/the-alcoholic-retains-the-ability-to-condemn-his-addiction-and-advise/) [Pitigrilli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pitigrilli/) > [When a woman drinks it's as if an animal were drinking, or a child. Alcoholism is scandalous in a woman, and a female alcoholic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-duras/when-a-woman-drinks-it-s-as-if-an-animal-were-drinking-or-a-child/) [Marguerite Duras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-duras/) > [In Stratford you either turn into an alcoholic or you better write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-plummer/in-stratford-you-either-turn-into-an-alcoholic-or-you-better-write/) [Christopher Plummer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-plummer/) > [I don't like the word 'alcoholic'. I like to think of myself as an advanced drinker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-handler/i-don-t-like-the-word-alcoholic-i-like-to-think-of-myself-as-an/) [Chelsea Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-handler/) > [Because I know I'm an addict, and I know I'm an alcoholic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-lee-curtis/because-i-know-i-m-an-addict-and-i-know-i-m-an-alcoholic/) [Jamie Lee Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-lee-curtis/) > [Rumor had it that he was homosexual; in reality, in recent years, he was simply a garden-variety alcoholic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-houellebecq/rumor-had-it-that-he-was-homosexual-in-reality-in-recent-years-he-was/) [Michel Houellebecq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-houellebecq/) > [More than most people, the alcoholic leads a double life. He is very much the actor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-w/more-than-most-people-the-alcoholic-leads-a-double-life-he-is-very/) [Bill W](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-w/) > [“He’s downed four drinks in the short time it took for me to get myself together and find him. Either he’s shaken by something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-ee/he-s-downed-four-drinks-in-the-short-time-it-took-for-me-to-get/) [Susan Ee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-ee/) [Browse all 303 Alcoholic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alcoholic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I know one gay ex-Mormon who is a talented, self-destructive alcoholic. 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