A turbulent telling of one woman’s immersion in her faith, and one man’s journey to acceptance. Seeking comfort in the isolation of the western landscape, young single mother Pansy Blackwell brings her son Butch to the Siskiyou Mountains. Fully engulfed in the Jehovah’s Witnesses assurances for a soon-to-arrive end of the world, Pansy raises her son to conform to the constrictive requirements of their religion. But as Butch discovers the wonders of the world around him with an endlessly patient and kindhearted rancher, he embraces the cowboy culture and struggles to live as his authentic self. In the late 20th Century, rural communities in America were often hostile to the rising-awareness of LGBT people, and Butch is soon cast aside by his church for homosexuality. In The Gift , Scott Terry crafts a memorable and historically-accurate tale of religious extremism and the struggle for acceptance, before the truth of those times are swept under the forgotten rug of history. "Scott Terry's novel The Gift is a heart-wrenching coming-of-age story that takes readers to Farnsworth, California, in the late 1960s—early 1970s. Scott Terry has given readers a story that accurately portrays the bigotry of the late 60s and early 70s, especially from the perspective of small town communities. He also sheds light on religious extremism that uses fear and isolation to get members to conform to their way of life. Butch's story is one of survival, self-discovery, and acceptance. While written about a period in the past, The Gift is still relevant today and is an excellent choice for LGBTQ+ readers struggling to find their way and accept who they are, or anyone who enjoys family dramas." Five Stars ★★★★★ -- Literary Titan "Masterful. Scott Terry's narrative voice is almost poetic in its hard-hitting atmospheric descriptions. Highly recommended to book club discussion groups interested in LGBTQ+ lives, history, and conflicts with faith." - MIdwest Book Review "The Gift is a fantastic multigenerational novel about a family's experiences with religious predation and abuse." Leah Block, ForeWord Reviews "Compelling. A refreshing take on masculinity and parenthood." Kirkus Reviews "Striking debut. One of a kind. Scott's prose sizzles right out of the gate and his talent for immersive description is a constant throughout." - BookLIfe Prize 2025 The Gift is Scott Terry's striking debut about struggling single mother Pansy and her son, Butch, and how they learn to survive in an indifferent world. Scott's prose sizzles right out of the gate and his talent for immersive description is a constant throughout. The Gift is one of a kind...a sweeping scope, taking the reader from 1958 Colorado all the way to the late 90s. Intriguing and memorable throughout, The Gift lives up to its title. - BookLife Prize 2025 Scott Terry was raised as a Jehovah's Witness, and spent his childhood praying for God and Armageddon to heal him of his homosexual thoughts. At the age of sixteen, he escaped from the Witness religion and was riding bulls in the rodeo as a gay cowboy.Scott's memoir, (Cowboys, Armageddon, and The Truth) was named one of the Top 20 Must Read Books of 2013 by Advocate magazine. It was named one of the best LGBT releases of 2012 by Out In Print and Band of Thebes book lists, and was a double-award winner of the Rainbow Book Awards (Best Gay Debut, and Best LGBT Non-Fiction, 2013). Scott's new novel, The Gift, is a work of fiction and scheduled for release in Fall 2024. Scott has written often for the San Francisco Chronicle, and his essays has been featured in the Huffington Post and Alternet Magazine, amongst others. Scott's rodeo gear, clothing, and championship buckles are in the permanent collection of the Autry Museum of the American West (Los Angeles), and are currently on display in the museum's Imagined Wests exhibit. He and his husband operate an organic farm in the San Francisco Bay Area.