Coming Out of the Black Country

By: Stanley Underhill

Narrated by: Gordon Griffin

At the age of 90, Stanley Underhill ended years of secrecy and silence with the publication of his extraordinary memoir, Coming Out of The Black Country.

Cathartic and courageous, the book vividly recounts Underhill’s lifelong struggle to reconcile his faith and sexuality – a struggle that began in extreme poverty in the industrial Midlands and continued with ever-increasing drama through his time as a naval nurse in the Royal Navy, as an accountant, as a Franciscan Brother and nearly 40 years as a priest in the Church of England.

With shocking honesty, Underhill reveals how family, society and the Church drove him to embark on a systematic program – including electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), testosterone injections, Freudian therapy and even attempted suicide – to “rid himself of homosexuality”.

Although Underhill has never been able to “share passionate love with another human being”, his story shows in compelling terms how hard-won acceptance can be achieved through generosity of spirit and force of will.

Wonderfully read by multi-award winning narrator Gordon Griffin, Coming Out of the Black Country is not only an unforgettable story of survival and forgiveness, but also an intensely moving testament to the power of personal faith and love.

©2018,2021 Stanley R. Underhill (P)2024 Stanley R. Underhill, Thomas Voelker