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andrearbooks's review
3.0
Girl On A Wire was a memoir about the author's time in a church known for its extreme hate, primarily through their picketing. I grew up in Topeka where they are based, and I can remember seeing them a variety of places. It's really, really difficult to understand and comprehend such hateful messaging as a kid, as well as an adult. The memoir included the author talking about the development of the church, the evolution of her relationship with the church, and her life after being expelled from it. It's a tough read given all the hate this group puts into the world under the guise of faith. It does provide that window into the church if that's something you are curious about exploring, but it also means you have to visit much of the pain they've caused in communities.
xxstefaniereadsxx's review
dark
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
This book was written by the granddaughter of the founder of the Westboro Baptist Church. She gives a detailed description of her life in the family and church. I cannot believe some of the things that they taught their children from such a young age. I really feel that it should be considered child abuse, but I suppose religions have certain protections for their doctrine. I was intrigued by what she had to say, and what the catalyst for her leaving the church was. I think she is brave for speaking out against the church, and hope she has a positive impact on the world to cancel out some of the negative she put into it. This church is revolting.
j_han42's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
liralen's review
3.0
Read this not long after [b:Unfollow|43314707|Unfollow A Journey from Hatred to Hope|Megan Phelps-Roper|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1545515857l/43314707._SY75_.jpg|67220915], and it makes a nice point of comparison, partly because they left for different reasons and partly because they had different experiences within the church.
Like Meghan Phelps-Roper, Libby Phelps grew up in the Westboro Baptist Church; she loved her family (including her grandfather); she believed that telling people they were going to hell was how 'love thy neighbour' should be carried out. Like Meghan Phelps-Roper, Libby Phelps eventually left the church.
The biggest difference in their experience seems to be that Phelps-Roper was (according to Phelps) closer to the top of the hierarchy and thus faced less scrutiny within the church (if I remember correctly, [b:Lauren Drain|15791137|Banished Surviving My Years in the Westboro Baptist Church|Lauren Drain|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1355119837l/15791137._SY75_.jpg|21512717] said something similar), leaving Phelps more bitter about her personal experience; in terms of leaving, Phelps-Roper describes her split from the church as largely ideological (her beliefs shifted before she left), while Phelps left partly because she was pushed out and partly because she wasn't happy with her treatment.
There are places where I found myself wishing that Phelps had gone a bit deeper. This moment, for instance: They wanted me to come with them to do presentations and talk about my experience of having bullied people as a picketer. That stung. I said I didn’t think I had been a bully—that I had never tried to make anyone change their ways. That was God’s prerogative. They pressed me on it, but nothing really came of the plan (161). Semantics, I guess, but to...on the one hand 'tried to make someone change' isn't the definition of bullying, and on the other hand that sort of seems beside the point. I'd have loved to see a bit more exploration of that notion (not the question of terminology but...I don't know. Culpability? Maybe not that either. What does it mean for your understanding of yourself when you've moved away from everything you were taught as a child, and when many of those things were hurtful to others? What responsibility do you have after the fact? (How does responsibility change when your harmful beliefs weren't ones that you came to as an adult but ones that you were taught as a child?)
It's a solid read if (like me) you find the WBC, well, appalling but fascinating. If you're only going to read one memoir on the subject, I'd still recommend Unfollow, just because I found it more nuanced, but...I'm not good at reading only one book on a subject.
Like Meghan Phelps-Roper, Libby Phelps grew up in the Westboro Baptist Church; she loved her family (including her grandfather); she believed that telling people they were going to hell was how 'love thy neighbour' should be carried out. Like Meghan Phelps-Roper, Libby Phelps eventually left the church.
The biggest difference in their experience seems to be that Phelps-Roper was (according to Phelps) closer to the top of the hierarchy and thus faced less scrutiny within the church (if I remember correctly, [b:Lauren Drain|15791137|Banished Surviving My Years in the Westboro Baptist Church|Lauren Drain|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1355119837l/15791137._SY75_.jpg|21512717] said something similar), leaving Phelps more bitter about her personal experience; in terms of leaving, Phelps-Roper describes her split from the church as largely ideological (her beliefs shifted before she left), while Phelps left partly because she was pushed out and partly because she wasn't happy with her treatment.
There are places where I found myself wishing that Phelps had gone a bit deeper. This moment, for instance: They wanted me to come with them to do presentations and talk about my experience of having bullied people as a picketer. That stung. I said I didn’t think I had been a bully—that I had never tried to make anyone change their ways. That was God’s prerogative. They pressed me on it, but nothing really came of the plan (161). Semantics, I guess, but to...on the one hand 'tried to make someone change' isn't the definition of bullying, and on the other hand that sort of seems beside the point. I'd have loved to see a bit more exploration of that notion (not the question of terminology but...I don't know. Culpability? Maybe not that either. What does it mean for your understanding of yourself when you've moved away from everything you were taught as a child, and when many of those things were hurtful to others? What responsibility do you have after the fact? (How does responsibility change when your harmful beliefs weren't ones that you came to as an adult but ones that you were taught as a child?)
It's a solid read if (like me) you find the WBC, well, appalling but fascinating. If you're only going to read one memoir on the subject, I'd still recommend Unfollow, just because I found it more nuanced, but...I'm not good at reading only one book on a subject.
tjlcody's review
4.0
Geez, this was a hard one.
Phelps does a great job of making you understand why and how her family is the way it is, and she does a great job embodying the problem of "regardless of how you see them and what they've done, they're still my family and I love them."
If anything, I took two major points away from this book:
1: Phelps and his clan were he OG trolls, and you should NEVER FEED THE GODDAMN TROLLS, PEOPLE. My God, Phelps's testimony here confirms that these people thrive off the fuss you make over them, SO STOP.
2: For the love of God, leave the kids out of it. They can't damn well help that they've been raised in that environment, and you coming at them in petty ways is only gonna push them deeper into the us-versus-them extremism. That a friggin'teacher was docking this girl's grades unfairly is insane to me- in what world do you think that will solve the problem?? Oh yeah, she'll REALLY see the error of her ways now that you're literally doing everything her grandfather said you would do to her for being "faithful". That is some petty bullshit right here and it's being directed at child who's basically been raised in a psychologically abusive environment. I do not cosign, shame on anyone who did it/does it, you are not helping.
It just riles me. You don't put this stuff on the kids. They don't have a choice- and by abusing them you're pushing them right into the arms of the people brainwashing them. This is not rocket-science.
Phelps does a great job of making you understand why and how her family is the way it is, and she does a great job embodying the problem of "regardless of how you see them and what they've done, they're still my family and I love them."
If anything, I took two major points away from this book:
1: Phelps and his clan were he OG trolls, and you should NEVER FEED THE GODDAMN TROLLS, PEOPLE. My God, Phelps's testimony here confirms that these people thrive off the fuss you make over them, SO STOP.
2: For the love of God, leave the kids out of it. They can't damn well help that they've been raised in that environment, and you coming at them in petty ways is only gonna push them deeper into the us-versus-them extremism. That a friggin'teacher was docking this girl's grades unfairly is insane to me- in what world do you think that will solve the problem?? Oh yeah, she'll REALLY see the error of her ways now that you're literally doing everything her grandfather said you would do to her for being "faithful". That is some petty bullshit right here and it's being directed at child who's basically been raised in a psychologically abusive environment. I do not cosign, shame on anyone who did it/does it, you are not helping.
It just riles me. You don't put this stuff on the kids. They don't have a choice- and by abusing them you're pushing them right into the arms of the people brainwashing them. This is not rocket-science.
theremightbecupcakes's review
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Abandonment, Hate crime, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Religious bigotry
pjhuerter's review
3.0
Although I enjoyed reading the book, I thought it would have been more enjoyable if it was more condensed. The length would have benefited from more detail, but after meeting Libby I am confident she didn't want to include anything that might be hurtful to her family, despite being estranged.
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