MARC ADAMS

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 9/30/10
IN THE SHADOW OF STUDENT'S SUICIDE, GAY AUTHOR/ACTIVIST MARC ADAMS VISITS RUTGERS UNIVERSITY

New Brunswick, NJ - The Humanist Chaplaincy at Rutgers University and Rutgers Center for Social Justice Education and LGBT Communities present gay author and activist Marc Adams and his presentation, Hope Needs Only Hands & Hearts. The presentation takes place on October 4, 2010 at 7pm at the Rutgers University Student Center Multipurpose Room, 126 College Avenue, New Brunswick, New Jersey.

"Ever so lightly, I ran the edge of the blade across my left wrist, This one, I thought to myself, would be for my failures. Switching hands, I ran the blade across my right wrist. This one would be for being gay. I turned the blade at an angle and continued to scratch my right wrist until the skin turned white. This wrist, the one I had marked to bear the pain of my homosexuality, in and of itself, was enough for which to die. The cut I would make would deliver to me my freedom. No more lies, no more ruined friendships, and no more shame." Marc Adams' autobiography, The Preacher's Son, begins with a riveting journey through the darkest moments of the author's life.

"I was a junior at Liberty University," Adams says. "I was tired of the bullying, the bullying I was doing to others and my failure to change my behavior from gay to straight. I felt so trapped. I couldn't see my life progressing beyond that moment."

Adams' visit to Rutgers University was scheduled many weeks prior to the recent suicide of Tyler Clementi, the Rutgers freshman who jumped to his death from the George Washington Bridge following the online broadcast of his romantic encounter with another male. For Adams, the stories of GLBT young people taking their own lives is a common occurrence.

"Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth are four times more likely to consider suicide than their heterosexual counterparts," Adams says. "I was almost one of those statistics. When you are in that place of darkness where you cannot see your heart in your own hand, it seems the only escape is to disappear."

After a lengthy journey to self-acceptance, Adams founded a nonprofit social justice organization appropriately named HeartStrong to make every possible effort to reach GLBT students from religious educational institutions.  Adams is an award winning author of nine books including, Do's and Don'ts of Dealing with the Religious Right and It's Not About You: Understanding Coming Out & Self-Acceptance.

"Hope is everything" Adams continues. "I will spend the rest of my life offering that hope to GLBT persons so maybe one day we won't have to hear stories like the story of Tyler Clementi. When Tyler died, someone lost a son, someone lost a best friend, and someone lost their future. I have set the pattern of my life to inspire others to offer hope, too. I believe hope and human kindness can change everything."