The Boughs of Love: Navigating the Queer Latter-day Saint Experience During an Ongoing Restoration was the winner in the LGBTQ+ (Non Fiction) category in the 2025 IndieReader Discovery Awards, where undiscovered talent meets people with the power to make a difference.
Following find an interview with author Nathan Kitchen.
“It’s an incredible honor to win the 2025 IndieReader Discovery Award in the LGBTQ+ Nonfiction category. This recognition is meaningful to me on many levels. Writing the Boughs of Love was a deeply moving endeavor born out of personal and community experience. Accordingly, it’s a celebration of queer self-determination where each of us claims our spirituality in places that feel safe and healthy for us without betraying our self-worth or erasing our identity. Sometimes, those places are in a church; sometimes, they are not. In the face of exclusion, we often must build our own belonging and supportive communities. I want to express my sincere gratitude to my publisher, BCC Press, and to my editors, Adam McLain and Lori Thompson Forsyth, who helped guide this book into what it is today. Finally, I am particularly indebted to my husband, Matthew. His gentle presence throughout this memoir and throughout my life is central to its very existence, a testament to the enduring power of love.”
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
The Boughs of Love: Navigating the Queer Latter-day Saint Experience During an Ongoing Restoration. Published November 5, 2024
What’s the book’s first line?
My heart stopped, mid-gasp, at the sudden, life-changing news staring me directly in the face.
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
With unwavering faith and unflinching honesty, The Boughs of Love offers a vital roadmap for queer Latter-day Saints seeking to reconcile their identity with their spiritual journey. This isn’t a story of choosing sides but forging a radical path of belonging. Ultimately, Boughs just isn’t for Mormons. It’s a vital read for anyone seeking to understand how individuals navigate deeply held beliefs, personal truth, and the search for belonging. It’s about finding love, acceptance, and a spiritual home without sacrificing authenticity or integrity, even when the path forward isn’t clear. Everyone benefits from this kind of belonging.
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
As I approached the end of my four-year term as president of Affirmation: LGBTQ Mormons, Families & Friends, I realized that my experiences with queer Mormons, LGBTQ civil rights activists, and the LDS Church had given me a unique perspective on queer spirituality and belonging. I was determined to document this in a way that would significantly contribute to our queer cultural heritage and legacy.
What’s the most distinctive thing about the main character? Who-real or fictional-would you say the character reminds you of?
As the main character in my book, I do not flinch as I make decisions, I do not cower as I lay out the realities of the queer journey, and I do not rest as I build communities of safety, love, and hope. I would like to think that I have learned from Martin Luther King Jr.’s attributes in some small way.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
If you want to understand the complexities of queer joy and belonging, told in a thought-provoking way, then this is the book for you!
If they made your book into a movie, who would you like to see play the main character(s)?
I would be thrilled if Matt Bomer played my character and Neil Patrick Harris played my husband, Matthew.
When did you first decide to become an author?
My friends will attest that I was a horrible writer in college. Frustrated at my lack of skill, I practiced and practiced. I told my best friend that someday, I wanted to “write myself into existence.” Almost forty years later, I have finally achieved this goal.
Is this the first book that you’ve written?
Yes, and I was not prepared for the emotional drama and trauma that comes with memoir writing.
What do you do for work when you’re not writing?
I am a dentist with a full-time practice. Plus, my five kids and four grandkids keep me plenty busy!
How much time do you generally spend on your writing?
Currently, about 12 hours a week.