Books published by Brown Paper Press

The Inheritance of Shame is the true story of author Peter Gajdics' six years in a bizarre form of conversion therapy that attempted to "cure" him of his homosexuality. Virtually imprisoned in a cult-like therapeutic house called the Styx with other heavily medicated psychiatric patients, they were all under the total authority of a violent, dominating rogue psychiatrist named "Dr. Alfonzo." Their treatment devolved into intense primal scream therapy, weekly injections of Ketamine Hydrochloride, a dissociate drug most commonly used as an animal anesthetic, and constant pressure to abandon their birth parents and form unquestioning bonds with surrogate parents - Alfonzo, as "Daddy," and a woman hired to act and nurture them as "Mommy." They learned not to question Alfonzo, and to prove their loyalty by complete obedience and unpaid servitude. The Inheritance of Shame details Gajdics' attempt to seek legal recourse, juxtaposed against his parents' histories of trauma: his mother's incarceration and escape from a communist concentration camp in post-World War II Yugoslavia, and his father's upbringing as an orphan in war-torn Hungary. Though culturally and politically dissimilar, the emotional undercurrents of each of their narratives converge at key moments throughout the memoir.Largely chronological, The Inheritance of Shame begins at a key moment in then-23 year-old Gajdics' life when he prostituted himself in his hometown of Vancouver, Canada. The memoir flashes back to Gajdics' birth in 1964, the youngest of five children to Catholic immigrant parents, and touches on key moments from his childhood, including his own eventual understanding into his parents' traumatic histories in Europe during World War II. Most of the memoir, however, focuses on the nearly six years Gajdics spent in a bizarre form of primal therapy with psychiatrist Dr. Alfonzo, who tried to "change" his sexual orientation from homosexual to heterosexual. Much of Gajdics' post-therapy years deal with his medical malpractice suit against Alfonzo, while attempting to repair key familial relationships-even in the face of their demise. Spanning decades and continents, Crossing Styx is about the dark forces of oppression and the will to survive; its themes are universal: generational shame, childhood trauma, powerlessness in the face of adversity, self-acceptance, resilience, and the recognition that we have within each of us a core essence that cannot be killed, or "changed."

Featured on the PBS NewsHour!A step-by-step guide to raising confident, open-minded, tolerant kids Relax, It's Just God delivers a refreshingly compassionate and light-hearted approach to addressing issues of faith in secular families. For anyone looking to raise critically thinking, religiously literate, and highly tolerant kids capable of making up their own minds about what to believe, Relax, It's Just God may well be considered the secular equivalent of a godsend.A rapidly growing demographic cohort in America, secular parents are at the forefront of a major and unprecedented cultural shift. Unable to fall back on what they were taught as children, many of these parents are struggling, or simply failing, to address issues of God, religion and faith with their children in ways that promote honesty, curiosity, kindness and independence.Author Wendy Thomas Russell sifts through hard data, including the results of a survey of 1,000 nonreligious parents, and delivers gentle but straightforward advice to both non-believers and open-minded believers. With a thoughtful voice infused with humor, Russell seamlessly merges scientific thought, scholarly research and everyday experience with respect for a full range of ways to view the world. Relax, It's Just God goes beyond the numbers to assist parents (and grandparents) who may be struggling to find the right time, place, tone and language with which to talk about God, spirituality and organized religion. It encourages parents to promote religious literacy and understanding and to support kids as they explore religion on their own -- ensuring that each child makes up his or her own mind about what to believe (or not believe) and extends love and respect to those who may not agree with them.Subjects covered include:¿ Talking openly about our beliefs without indoctrinating kids¿ Making religious literacy fun and engaging¿ Talking about death without the comforts of heaven¿ Navigating religious differences with extended family members¿ What to do when kids get threatened with hell