
A coming-of-age graphic novel memoir about a young man who, growing up in an Orthodox Jewish community, realizes he's gay and struggles to reconcile his faith with who he is. Lonnie's Orthodox Jewish community has always been it's not okay to be gay. Growing up in a devout family and going to school at a yeshiva, he's told by his parents, his teachers, and his friends that being gay is a sin and an abomination. But as he gets older, he realizes that he likes boys, and wonders what kind of life he will be able to live. As Lonnie expands his world beyond the yeshiva to theater camp, college classes, and movie nights, he sees that the life he wants isn't compatible with the life of his parents—and his whole religious community. This emotional graphic novel explores the fissures between identity and religion and charts Lonnie's journey from a kid who loved the rules of the Orthodox Jewish tradition to becoming increasingly independent and defiant, embracing his gay identity and developing his own chosen family.
Author

I grew up doodling in class and reading comics outside of class. Though I always knew I loved drawing, I didn’t realize how much I liked telling stories (and that I could combine those two passions) until I went back to school for a while at the School of Visual Arts in NYC. My new full-length graphic novel about growing up gay and Orthodox Jewish, "Gaytheist: Coming Out of My Orthodox Childhood", will be released February 6, 2024 from Street Noise Books! Please consider pre-ordering it at your local comic shop / bookstore, online, and/or requesting it at your local library! You can follow me on all the socials @LonnieComics.