“Generous and gorgeous... "
–– Nicole Helget, author of The Summer of Ordinary Ways

"A first-of-its-kind memoir ...”
— J.P. Der Boghossian, Founder of the Queer Armenian Library and host of the podcast This Queer Book Saved My Life

In a small Texas town, Brent comes out to his parents, and on that night his place in the world cracks wide open. Unmoored from his family but unwilling to give up on his dream, Brent enters the Peace Corps with the incredible task of navigating an unfamiliar land, a new language, and a new identity as a gay man in post-Soviet Armenia.

As he grapples with a religious past and a queer future, Brent finds himself immersed in a culture he’d never imagined. Brent moves in with Armenian families, celebrates his first Nor Tari, hunts mushrooms in the mountain mists, and dances in Yerevan at his first gay bar, all while hoping for and trying to find romance, even love. When his Peace Corps commitment takes an unexpected turn, Brent must decide what matters to him most and where he thinks he belongs.

Leap will be published by Manuscripts Press on June 2, 2024.

Brent Love is an American memoirist and Returned Peace Corps Volunteer. During his work as Roving Correspondent for the American Refugee Committee, Love covered stories across the Horn of Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Love studied political science and international relations at Abilene Christian University and began his career in refugee resettlement in West Texas. He is the host of the surrogacy podcast Hope Works. After living and working abroad for most of his adult life, Love settled down to raise two gorgeous kids with his gorgeous husband. When he isn’t playing outside with his family, you’ll probably find Love cooking, cleaning, or, if he’s lucky, cuddled up with a book and his dog, Cricket.

Chris Stedman is a writer, activist, and professor who teaches in the Department of Religion and Philosophy at Augsburg University in Minneapolis, MN. He is the author of the books IRL and Faitheist, and the writer and host of Unread, named one of the best podcasts of 2021 by the Guardian, Vulture, HuffPost, Mashable, and the CBC, and honored by the 2022 Webby Awards. Additionally, he has written popular essays for outlets including the Atlantic, Pitchfork, BuzzFeed, VICE, the Los Angeles Review of Books, and the Washington Post. He currently serves on the board of PFund, an organization that provides direct financial assistance to LGBTQIA midwesterners. Learn more at chrisstedmanwriter.com.

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