My conversation with Kashif Andrew Graham ebbs and flows through his experience of coming out to his pentecostal family and friends, as well as institutions here in the south. In what he refers to as his "deliverance years," Kashif has gone from praying that God would change his sexuality to thanking God for being gay. His story is one of moving away from shame and into acceptance, with strong doses of reality that are refreshingly punctuated by laughter.

As a librarian for religion and theology at Vanderbilt University's Divinity Library, Kashif carries a reverence for the written word. He reminded me of that old adage, that you are what you read. And he shares with us the story of how the small but powerful gesture of handing a book to someone at just the right moment has the power to change us at our core.

Kashif identifies as a queer Jamaican American, with the gender pronouns he/him/his.

Find Kashif on Instagram, @kashifandrewgraham

And follow his poetry on Instagram, @kagwrites

For Reflection: Have you ever needed to be delivered from a belief that was harmful to you, and how did that unfold? How does it feel for someone to affirm you entirely for who you are? Who has been a positive guiding light for you in your life? Name a book that fundamentally changed how you viewed yourself. What did you do differently after reading it?

Books Mentioned: The Birth of the Living God by Ana-Maria Rizzuto, The Velvet Rage: Overcoming the Pain of Growing Up Gay in a Straight Man's World by Alan Downs, How to Survive a Summer by Nick White, Boy Erased by Garrard Conley, God and the Gay Christian: The Biblical Case in Support of Same-Sex Relationship by Matthew Vines

Out Loud is a podcast by and for queer people of faith in the South. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, and join our mailing list for updates. Support the show financially by becoming a Patreon member and receive exclusive content and merchandise. Or leave a one-time donation on our website.

Editing by Cariad Harmon

Music by JP Rugierri

Recorded at We Own This Town in Nashville, TN