Saving Alex: When I Was Fifteen I Told My Mormon Parents I Was Gay, and That's When My Nightmare Began

When Alex Cooper was fifteen years old, life was pretty ordinary in her suburban town and nice Mormon family. But something was gnawing at her that made her feel different. These feelings exploded when she met Yvette, a girl with whom Alex fell quickly in love.

Alex knew she was holding a secret that could shatter her family, her church community, and her life. Yet when this secret couldn’t be hidden any longer, she told her parents that she was gay, and the nightmare began. She was driven from her home in Southern California to Utah, where, against her will, her parents handed her over to fellow Mormons who promised to save Alex from her homosexuality.

For eight harrowing months, Alex was held captive in an unlicensed “residential treatment program” where she was physically and verbally abused. Many days she was forced to stand facing a wall wearing a heavy backpack full of rocks. With the help of a dedicated legal team in Salt Lake City, Alex eventually escaped and made legal history in Utah by winning the right to live under the law’s protection as an openly gay teenager.

Saving Alex is a bold, inspiring story of one girl’s fight for freedom, acceptance, and truth.

“Alex Cooper's story is a call to action.” —Chad Griffin, president, Human Rights Campaign

“[A] heart-wrenching, suspenseful memoir.” —BUST Magazine

“A brave and important book.” —Robbie Rogers, author of Coming Out to Play