nursenell's review against another edition
3.0
I didn't like this book as much I had expected to. The author goes into a lot of the history of fundamentalism but it is not presented in an organized way, rather in bits and pieces. I didn't grow up in a fundamental religion, I was looking more to understanding what it was like on the personal side. I did learn a few interesting facts about the history of feminism that I didn't know but I was reading the book to gain an understanding of what it was like to grow up a fundamental.
katenetz's review against another edition
3.0
The book started a little slow, with a fairly conventional narrative of growing up fundamentalist. But the second half of the book was terrific. Campbell includes some interesting theological re-tellings of Jesus' interactions with women, and a very thoughtful and smart analysis of her own life and her own ideas of God. Her analogy of fundamentalism as a knife with the point broken off inside you was spot on. And her final examples of being "Christ-haunted" were immensely compelling.
A good introduction to the Christian feminism memoir genre and an interesting read.
A good introduction to the Christian feminism memoir genre and an interesting read.
sirlancelot2021's review against another edition
dark
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
theartolater's review against another edition
3.0
This was a strange book. The narrative was very disjointed and felt all over the place, and the flashes of really interesting stories were too difficult to get to around the somewhat dry and difficult way the information was presented.
Essentially, the book is about the author's relationship with her fundamentalist upbringing, her modern feminism, her relationship with religion, and how they intertwine. Thus, there's a lot of good-to-great information to chew on over the course of the book. Unfortunately, getting there was not the best part of the book at all, and ultimately took away from the whole thing. I understand that Campbell wanted to tell her story about getting up in front of the congregation in the context of her understanding of fundamentalism and with the role of women in her church, but it just really didn't present itself well enough for me to enjoy the payoff for it, for instance.
I can't say I hated this, but it was a slog in a lot of places. Put together differently, I may have really found a lot to praise.
Essentially, the book is about the author's relationship with her fundamentalist upbringing, her modern feminism, her relationship with religion, and how they intertwine. Thus, there's a lot of good-to-great information to chew on over the course of the book. Unfortunately, getting there was not the best part of the book at all, and ultimately took away from the whole thing. I understand that Campbell wanted to tell her story about getting up in front of the congregation in the context of her understanding of fundamentalism and with the role of women in her church, but it just really didn't present itself well enough for me to enjoy the payoff for it, for instance.
I can't say I hated this, but it was a slog in a lot of places. Put together differently, I may have really found a lot to praise.
andreablythe's review against another edition
4.0
Susan Campbell grew up in a strict fundamentalist. She loved her god, and even felt that her's was a deep personal relationship with Jesus. But as she grew older she began to question her church, specifically the roles assigned women.
Her writing is smart and funny. She talks about her childhood relationship with Jesus with both parts humor and mourning. And interwoven throughout her own personal narrative are the historical journeys of the fundamentalist movement and feminism.
Overall, an enlightening, touching, and fun read.
Her writing is smart and funny. She talks about her childhood relationship with Jesus with both parts humor and mourning. And interwoven throughout her own personal narrative are the historical journeys of the fundamentalist movement and feminism.
Overall, an enlightening, touching, and fun read.
llynn66's review against another edition
2.0
Fundamentalists scare...and sorry to come off as flippant here...the hell outta me. Yes, they do. I just cannot get into their heads. I lack the stomach for it. Talk about compartmentalization. How can anyone go through life constantly assigning 90% of the people around them to Lucifer's Fiery Pit? I just don't have the steely nerve for that!
I recall being in a Denny's on a Sunday morning many years back. I know it was a while ago because my husband was my boyfriend, we were both wearing leather jackets and I had no angst about the platter of pancakes, bacon and eggs I was about to devour. I noticed a decidedly "after churchy" crowd about the place and I made a wisecrack to G about the wholesome church going families disapproving of our jeans and leather coats as well as our general air of dissolute, unmarried-but-sleeping-in together-on-a-Sunday-ness. I meant it as a lame joke. But my future husband pointed out that we probably were the subject of much tongue clucking and folksy damn-to-helling. This diagnosis was based upon many such after-church brunches he attended as a child in the First Assembly of God Church, where a favorite theme was: 'aren't we glad we're saved and don't you feel sorry for those condemned sinners over there slurping up French toast together bold as brass."
There is just no way I could cope with a world view where I sit in a crappy chain restaurant and happily chow down whilst engaging in casual conversation about other diner's being eternally tortured in the lake of fire....not to mention family members, friends, co-workers and neighbors who have yet to see the light.
Which brings me to this book. And why I wanted so badly to like it more. The author has grappled with much of what fascinates/horrifies me about fundamentalist Christians (and fundamentalists of all stripes to be fair.) She was raised in the Church of Christ. She came up a believer, took much solace and thoughtfulness from her faith, and then went on to disengage herself from fundamentalism as an adult. Susan Campbell always chafed against the marginalized role of women in her church. She questioned the inherent lack of fair play. She came to feminism fairly early in life, despite her religious background. And, she strikes me as a very cool person. Campbell works for the Hartford Courant and I would be curious to locate and read some of her columns...many of them touching on areas of faith and spiritualism, although Campbell is no longer a church goer.
It is hard to put my finger on exactly why this book did not satisfy (me.) To be honest, I think I wanted a little more juice about her personal path from fundamentalism. She remains conflicted and still influenced by the experiences of her childhood in the church. I would have liked to hear more than what she ended up telling the reader about these personal experiences. Perhaps they were too personal to relate in the detail I craved. Perhaps someone with a more religious background could have picked up more between the lines. I just got the feeling she skipped over a lot...and she could have had a meatier book by filling in the gaps a bit more.
In a nutshell...fundamentalists are people too. They still freak me out. But titles like this remind me to render them a bit less as caricature.
I recall being in a Denny's on a Sunday morning many years back. I know it was a while ago because my husband was my boyfriend, we were both wearing leather jackets and I had no angst about the platter of pancakes, bacon and eggs I was about to devour. I noticed a decidedly "after churchy" crowd about the place and I made a wisecrack to G about the wholesome church going families disapproving of our jeans and leather coats as well as our general air of dissolute, unmarried-but-sleeping-in together-on-a-Sunday-ness. I meant it as a lame joke. But my future husband pointed out that we probably were the subject of much tongue clucking and folksy damn-to-helling. This diagnosis was based upon many such after-church brunches he attended as a child in the First Assembly of God Church, where a favorite theme was: 'aren't we glad we're saved and don't you feel sorry for those condemned sinners over there slurping up French toast together bold as brass."
There is just no way I could cope with a world view where I sit in a crappy chain restaurant and happily chow down whilst engaging in casual conversation about other diner's being eternally tortured in the lake of fire....not to mention family members, friends, co-workers and neighbors who have yet to see the light.
Which brings me to this book. And why I wanted so badly to like it more. The author has grappled with much of what fascinates/horrifies me about fundamentalist Christians (and fundamentalists of all stripes to be fair.) She was raised in the Church of Christ. She came up a believer, took much solace and thoughtfulness from her faith, and then went on to disengage herself from fundamentalism as an adult. Susan Campbell always chafed against the marginalized role of women in her church. She questioned the inherent lack of fair play. She came to feminism fairly early in life, despite her religious background. And, she strikes me as a very cool person. Campbell works for the Hartford Courant and I would be curious to locate and read some of her columns...many of them touching on areas of faith and spiritualism, although Campbell is no longer a church goer.
It is hard to put my finger on exactly why this book did not satisfy (me.) To be honest, I think I wanted a little more juice about her personal path from fundamentalism. She remains conflicted and still influenced by the experiences of her childhood in the church. I would have liked to hear more than what she ended up telling the reader about these personal experiences. Perhaps they were too personal to relate in the detail I craved. Perhaps someone with a more religious background could have picked up more between the lines. I just got the feeling she skipped over a lot...and she could have had a meatier book by filling in the gaps a bit more.
In a nutshell...fundamentalists are people too. They still freak me out. But titles like this remind me to render them a bit less as caricature.
lost_by_resolve's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent book! I'm really not a fan of non-fiction for the most part, I almost never finish! But this was so reminiscent of my own childhood and so funny that I breezed right through! I walked away feeling envious of Campbell for figuring out the female role in the church far sooner than I did.
aemy's review
3.0
Very readable, conversational, great use of footnotes. Maybe a bit dated (published in 2009, but seems to have been written in 2006), and jumps straight from her adolescence to her life as she was writing. I think it’s a solid spiritual autobiography.
archifydd's review
2.0
I hate the way this woman writes. She's trying to be funny and clever, and it almost always fell flat for me.
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