Devoted by: Jennifer Matthieu

[neuroticcat]

Has anyone else read this? Curious to hear what other FJ peeps thought https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22718682-devoted

Here's the blurb: "Rachel Walker is devoted to God.

She prays every day, attends Calvary Christian Church with her family, helps care for her five younger siblings, dresses modestly, and prepares herself to be a wife and mother who serves the Lord with joy.

But Rachel is curious about the world her family has turned away from, and increasingly finds that neither the church nor her homeschool education has the answers she craves. Rachel has always found solace in her beliefs, but now she can’t shake the feeling that her devotion might destroy her soul."

I thought Matthieu did a fairly good job capturing the QF/SAHD/fundie mentality. It still reads a bit too much of a peppy YA story to me. I mean, who wants to be like: meh, not enough abuse in that story, but I think that while she paints the community as controlling, it's still relatively benign compared to the horror stories that actually occur. I did appreciate how she pointed out how difficult and complicated it is for young women to leave their siblings behind and essentially start from nothing.

[ToriAmos]

Yes I read it, and I agree with you. Not bad, but kind of simple. 
I think she spoke a bit with Eve ettinger (previously Hanna) who has the Kitchen Table Cult podcast with Kieryn Darkwater. Both grew up fundie and escaped. 
 

another one is The Book of Esther. Explores the reality tv angle, but possibly even less nuanced emotionally.

[JermajestyDuggar]

I think sometimes these fundies do grow up without extreme physical and sexual abuse and still come out of it with real harm and hurt. When I see kids who come from a fundie family where there was extreme neglect, harsh physical punishments, and food scarcity, I totally get why these people left. It seems obvious. But then you have families who seem idyllic and still children are growing up and moving away from fundamentalism. I do think it’s interesting to hear those stories too. 

[Pecansforeveryone]

There is def a spectrum. Ex-evangelicals who were raised attending public schools  and whose parents had never heard of Michael Pearl or Bill Gothard can end up with religious trauma. I think it's important for people to focus more on psychological and spiritual abuse because it does as much damage as physical qnd sexual abuse. 

[EmainMacha]

The author is a member here I think. I seem to remember her post when the book was first published.

I enjoyed it. Might reread it now that it's back in my mind.

[crawfishgirl]

I remember that there was some discussion here when the book was released, and if I remember correctly, the author was on this board and discussed it in a post.  I enjoyed the book, since it generally mirrored the experiences that we read about and discuss on here.