Pastor's son

Abstract

Pastor's Son is a novel that explores the confusion surrounding the death of Eric Wells, a young man killed outside of a gay club in Oklahoma City. Those closest to Eric--his family, led by his father, David, a small town Methodist minister; Bryce, a gay man and Eric's friend and coworker; and Josh, Eric's best friend while growing up, the young man who accidentally kills Eric--all struggle to understand the meaning of Eric's death, to forgive those involved, and to forgive themselves. The media obscures and sensationalizes the events surrounding Eric's death, and the tragedy's aftermath causes David, pressured by his wife, Marta, to confront the media's noise and his church's view of homosexuality, while Bryce and his partner, Chance, confront the hypocrisy that allows Oklahoma law to protect Christians from violence but does not offer the LGBT community equal protection.