ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

WILLIAM HUGHEY grew up in abject poverty in a small town called Covington Tennessee. His Father was an alcoholic and abusive to William, his Mother, and his three siblings. After the death of his father, he was moved from place to place and State to State by his Mother. Young William never quite felt that he belonged anywhere. He found Art and Writing to be an excellent outlet for his lonely desperate feelings. During this time of emotional disconnection, Will began to cope with his sexual identity. This was made all the more challenging by his Mother's Church.Through his confusion Will found something he had been longing for. Someone who noticed him and genuinely loved him. They both planned to participate in a Commitment Ceremony after they graduated from High School. But as fate would have it, the young Lovers would be seperated by death. The young man he had fallen in love with suffered from a chronic heart condition and died in his arms.Will's life became much more interesting when his doctor and half Sister conspired to "out" him to the entire congregation of his Mother's Church. Instead of comfort, he found conflict, instead of condolence, he was met with collusion. Although he would have been welcomed by his partners family with love to pay his last respects, he was banned by the Pastor of his Mother's Church from attending the funeral. Instead, he was forced into an Aversion Therapy camp.
(aversiontherapyFunction: noun: therapy intended to suppress an" undesirable habit or behavior" (as Homosexuality) by associating the "habit or behavior" with a noxious or punishing stimulus (as electric shock).This marks one of the most traumatic periods in his life. It would be years before Will would be able to speak publicly about the ordeal he under went at the "camp". The "camp" left him with feelings of hopelessness and self-loathing which threw him into the arms of an abusive, manipulative man. He was beaten, raped, druged, mentally tortured, and what was left of his Self Estem after the "camp" was anialated by that man.This situation caused Will's world view to take on a Nihilstic slant. He had come to believe that his life was useless except to be used and discarded by men.He became the one thing that he never wanted to be.Having escaped the tumult of his past, in 2002 Will reconnected with a childhood friend. A man who always loved him. Their friendship progressed into intimacy and Will finally found the love he had sought his entire life. In the years that followed he navigated away from desperation and toward hope. Although he is better than he once was, he will forever have to live with the croutching demons of his past.