Book Review A critical education in everything you need to know about abortion in the USA post Dobbs. Reading this book I learned that most Americans, regardless of their religious or political affiliations, support the legality of abortion in most situations. The fact that Roe Vs Wade was overturned undermines democracy. I learned that abortion is very safe—arguably safer than…

Brilliant explanation of Christian Nationalism! As an immigrant living in the USA, I found this book incredibly illuminating. I had ideas about “Christian nationalism” but this really spelled it out. I was impressed with April’s understanding of the “seven mountain mandate” and how intertwined it is with Christian nationalism. That was definitely a revelation for me as more of an…

Book by Sheila Wray Gregoire, Rebecca Gregoire Lindenbach & Joanna Sawatsky There is some really valuable and insightful information in this book. The three authors delve into topics like respect, boundaries, dating, bodily functions, sex education, self-esteem, sexual assault and consent. In the chapter “She Deserves to be Respected,” the authors addressed the acronym JOY that stands for “Jesus, Others,…

Mattie Jo has written a delightful memoir about evangelical deconstruction, particularly purity culture. Her vibrant personality comes through on every page, making this an easy, entertaining read.  Mattie delves into what she was raised to believe, and how she eventually deconstructed hell, evangelism and mission work. She shares stories of a mission trip she went on to Indonesia and how…

I freaking love Rebel!! I didn’t even realize how much I loved her until I read her memoir and learned more of her life experiences.  As an Australian, I love her “Aussie-battler” work ethic.  As I leftie, I was super excited to find out she’s left-handed.  As a melancholy introvert, I was surprised and encouraged to learn that Rebel didn’t…

This is an incredibly important book for those of us concerned about rape culture, sexual assault and other forms of sexual abuse that come under the umbrella term “Sexual Terrorism.” Dr. Brenita has spent her life researching the prevalence and long term negative consequences of sexual terrorism. She works with people who have suffered under sexual terrorism and she is…

My impression is that Jill has done absolute justice to the telling of her story within the Duggar family. I found her parents described as believably loving, good people, who made mistakes (as we all do) and fell for the extreme (cultish) teachings of Bill Gothard.Jill’s evolution is compelling and beautiful. It was obviously painful and she doesn’t avoid or…

Shannon’s memoir expresses a deep sadness that can be felt by the reader. The feeling of being used and abused by a legalistic religious system is poignant and relatable. She painted a stark picture of how she was treated as subordinate to her husband. She was not invited and encouraged to be her full self. While I support her emancipation,…

Book Review I thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated Donna Freitas’ recent memoir, Wishful Thinking. Donna was raised Catholic, but has spent the majority of her adult life as an atheist. However, she has teetered on the edge of faith probably her entire life. As a deconstructing Evangelical, I can relate to her struggles with faith. She describes the heritage of faith,…

Book Review Britney’s memoir is absolutely shocking. I haven’t followed Britney’s journey much, despite being born only one year later. Of course I heard her songs: “Oops, I did it again,” “Hit me baby one more time,” and “Toxic.” I’m not familiar with most of her other songs. I grew up in Australia and heard less of the Britney Spears…

Book Review This box set includes: The Author’s Guide to Marketing Books on Amazon, The Author’s Guide to Email marketing, and The Author’s Guide to Write Text that Sells Books. These three books are jam-packed with information to help authors like me market our books. Personally, I have new ideas about how to get reviews and endorsements. I understand content…

Book Review Liz does an excellent job of identifying numerous ways in which patriarchal societies like the US, still discriminate against women. She contrasts complementarianism and egalitarianism and how even in gender-inclusive spaces, sexism can still rear its head. For example, in college, more of the textbooks used are written by white men, than by women and/or BIPOC. Women are…

Book Review This book addresses some of the reasons that Christians deconstruct and offers some new perspectives for people to consider rather than giving up faith in God altogether. For example, people can be hurt by a belief in hell, so they might deconstruct and reject traditional views of hell, while still having faith in God. Queer people experiencing rejection…

I found Jada’s memoir to be emotionally and spiritually deep. I did not know much of Jada’s story whatsoever and was surprised time and again as I read. The dangerous environment she grew up in was quite foreign to me, having grown up in Australia. I had no idea her parents were both drug addicts, and she became a drug…

This is a challenging but very necessary and beneficial read. All of us need to be working toward anti-racism. Education and awareness about the ways in which we fall into racist, white supremacist traps is the first step. This book provides that education and the space to explore one’s own mistakes and ignorance, to identify the propaganda, lies and habits…

The premise of this book is that God is not omnipotent because God is love and love does not control, coerce, puppeteer, force, or overpower the subject of its affections. God’s love means and necessitates that God cannot control the world. So when human beings experience pain and suffering, this is not God’s doing, God’s will, God’s desire, and God…

I loved this book! I do not have the same journey as Matthias, but his experiences are very relatable and there are truths he shares about deconstruction that benefit many of us “holy runaways” as we reconstruct our faith. I appreciated what Matthias had to say about the parable of the seeds. I’d always thought the seed represented the gospel…

This book is difficult to summarize, there are so many gems in it! So, I am simply going to share about my own journey and how this book impacted me. The Universal Christ has tentatively (holding loosely and not rigidly) helped me reconstruct my worldview. For the past year, I have been teetering on agnosticism, I have become more and…

This was a gripping story about a mother whose four-year-old daughter is dying. Her ex-husband is a pastor who is believing for healing, but the mother is struggling with her faith and is trying to be realistic about her daughter’s treatment and prognosis. There is a lot of tension between the two parents, a lot of suffering and heartache. In…

By Christy Barritt I have loved the entire Lantern Beach Mysteries Series. These three books (4-6) tied up all the loose ends. We find out who killed Cassidy’s best friend. We find out who killed Elsa, the original owner of the icecream truck. We are able to the see the relationship between Cassidy and Ty progress and how Cassidy takes…