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944 reviews for:
Unfollow: A Memoir of Loving and Leaving the Westboro Baptist Church
Megan Phelps-Roper
4.15 AVERAGE
944 reviews for:
Unfollow: A Memoir of Loving and Leaving the Westboro Baptist Church
Megan Phelps-Roper
4.15 AVERAGE
this book was a little hard to read at times due to clunkiness, but as a someone who has encountered the WBC at various events throughout kansas, this was a very interesting and important read. i really enjoyed hearing about the inner workings of the church, especially in relation to events that i remember happening. probably 4.5 stars!
I only finished this book today so am still processing, but I wanted to put my thoughts down somewhere while they're still fresh in my mind.
I picked this book up, like most of the others I own, in a Kindle sale. I saw the comparisons to [b:Educated|37826561|Educated|Tara Westover|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1575905585l/37826561._SY75_.jpg|53814228] by Tara Westover, which I loved, so I bought it. Then it sat on my digital shelf for about six months. This month, I read this for book club and was glad to finally be getting to it. Reader, it was so much more than its comparison to Educated.
Megan Phelps-Roper is an ex-member of the infamous Westboro Baptist Church, famous for their 'GOD HATES FAGS' picket signs (it's also their url) and their general activities as a very dedicated hate group. I was really unsure what to expect. Megan spoke openly about her fervour, her love of their pickets, her firm and confident agreement with their doctrines. I wasn't sure how she was going to turn out. She speaks about her and her family's beliefs very matter-of-factly. She is open about how she felt, how they interpreted scripture and how they justified their behaviour. More than any other memoir from someone who has escaped a religious cult/family, this was the one that helped me to properly understand how they think and justify their actions. The Bible verses really helped with this, especially when they are revisited later in the book from an outsider's perspective.
Learning a bit more about WBC was interesting too. Fred Phelps' civil rights connection was shocking for me. I also was really surprised that they were sent to public school, encouraged to attend university and, especially, the freedom they got to use the internet. Maybe that's why more and more of Megan's siblings leave the church. It was also interesting that what started to unravel everything for Megan was just a little contradiction, which snowballed into calling everything into question.
This book is also wonderfully written. The language used is lyrical and easy to read. The way Megan writes about her family and the love there is really heartfelt and, really, that's what this memoir is about more than the WBC or what they do. It was a look at their everyday lives and what it was like living in the community, how it evolved and changed and became more extreme. I really appreciated this because I do think it helped me to understand how they worked as a group and why their beliefs stayed so strong and consistent.
I highly, highly recommend reading this book. I think it's really educational and it has given me a lot to think about. I'm so glad I read this.
I picked this book up, like most of the others I own, in a Kindle sale. I saw the comparisons to [b:Educated|37826561|Educated|Tara Westover|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1575905585l/37826561._SY75_.jpg|53814228] by Tara Westover, which I loved, so I bought it. Then it sat on my digital shelf for about six months. This month, I read this for book club and was glad to finally be getting to it. Reader, it was so much more than its comparison to Educated.
Megan Phelps-Roper is an ex-member of the infamous Westboro Baptist Church, famous for their 'GOD HATES FAGS' picket signs (it's also their url) and their general activities as a very dedicated hate group. I was really unsure what to expect. Megan spoke openly about her fervour, her love of their pickets, her firm and confident agreement with their doctrines. I wasn't sure how she was going to turn out. She speaks about her and her family's beliefs very matter-of-factly. She is open about how she felt, how they interpreted scripture and how they justified their behaviour. More than any other memoir from someone who has escaped a religious cult/family, this was the one that helped me to properly understand how they think and justify their actions. The Bible verses really helped with this, especially when they are revisited later in the book from an outsider's perspective.
Learning a bit more about WBC was interesting too. Fred Phelps' civil rights connection was shocking for me. I also was really surprised that they were sent to public school, encouraged to attend university and, especially, the freedom they got to use the internet. Maybe that's why more and more of Megan's siblings leave the church. It was also interesting that what started to unravel everything for Megan was just a little contradiction, which snowballed into calling everything into question.
This book is also wonderfully written. The language used is lyrical and easy to read. The way Megan writes about her family and the love there is really heartfelt and, really, that's what this memoir is about more than the WBC or what they do. It was a look at their everyday lives and what it was like living in the community, how it evolved and changed and became more extreme. I really appreciated this because I do think it helped me to understand how they worked as a group and why their beliefs stayed so strong and consistent.
I highly, highly recommend reading this book. I think it's really educational and it has given me a lot to think about. I'm so glad I read this.
Some of the episodes that first got me hooked on Louis Theroux were the ones about the Westborough Baptist Church. Why would anyone not be interested to learn the motivations for someone in that community and, more so, of someone who left? This wasn't the most gripping book, especially the first half, which had me lost in the religious quotations. The interesting parts came when Meghan began to question things, especially the blantent sexism enforced by the elders which I had expected would have existed from the start given my understanding of other extreme religions. Definitely could've been better though.
I first learned of Westboro in college, when someone I knew in the military was going to counter-protest/be a human shield between the Westboro protestors and a military member's family during a funeral. I've been curious about them since then, so when I learned of this book I knew I needed to read it.
The story is told semi-chronologically, and the first half to two thirds is definitely slow. However, Megan gives a very detailed description of what her life was like within the church, when she first started having doubts or second thoughts about the church and her family, and then finally making the decision to leave and what it was life after leaving.
I definitely recommend this book to anyone curious about Westboro. If you are interested in religion and why people may leave a congregation nor religion they grew up in, this may also be an enlightening read.
The last chapter is VERY applicable to the polarized state of the US right now (in 2021) even outside of the lens of religion or politics.
My favorite quote from the book comes from the final chapter: "In short, the principles underlying the freedom of speech recognize that all of us are susceptible to cognitive deficiencies and groupthink, and that an open marketplace of ideas is our best defense against them."
The story is told semi-chronologically, and the first half to two thirds is definitely slow. However, Megan gives a very detailed description of what her life was like within the church, when she first started having doubts or second thoughts about the church and her family, and then finally making the decision to leave and what it was life after leaving.
I definitely recommend this book to anyone curious about Westboro. If you are interested in religion and why people may leave a congregation nor religion they grew up in, this may also be an enlightening read.
The last chapter is VERY applicable to the polarized state of the US right now (in 2021) even outside of the lens of religion or politics.
My favorite quote from the book comes from the final chapter: "In short, the principles underlying the freedom of speech recognize that all of us are susceptible to cognitive deficiencies and groupthink, and that an open marketplace of ideas is our best defense against them."
Interesting read about one woman’s disillusionment with her church and her way out of it. Of course, most people aren’t leaving a church as well known and universally hated as Westbrook Baptist Church. I was shocked to find out that the preacher, his children, his children’s spouses, and multiple grandchildren were lawyers. I expected unworldly, ignorant people to act like this, but they were anything but.
I was saddened to learn that at the end, Megan doesn’t have any religion to turn to - to me, that seems the worse part of this book.
I was saddened to learn that at the end, Megan doesn’t have any religion to turn to - to me, that seems the worse part of this book.
Fascinating insight into religious right’s use of social media and other contemporary tools of rhetoric. The book confronts hard truths with plenty of heart.
Honestly, I really really enjoyed this book. I went into this book not knowing much about wbbc, but I thought the summary sounded interesting. Megan did a FANTASTIC job of telling her story. She never wrote in a biased way. I felt like I was living with her through her journey. I felt anger, confusion, empathy, sadness, and joy all through the book. This story gives me hope in finding my own path in life/religion. I respect Megan and her courage to follow her heart regardless of family and friends. I wish her all the happiness in her continued discovery of this crazy world and hope regardless of religion, we all come back to the guidance of loving one another.
informative
reflective
Wow!
I got this book because it was a deal of the day on Amazon. I stupidly started the book at 11 at night. I could not stop reading. I was up until 2:30 reading it. It was so well written and so compelling. I finished it today while ignoring my family (which I feel terrible for) but I could not put it down. It was so neat-- from the way she introduced her family so that we would like them but then she slowly added things to further include the whole picture. The story was a story of fortitude but also sadness.
I also loved the prevalence of Twitter in the book. I wondered if perhaps her mom might have freed herself from the Westboro church if she had been able to tap into the outside world the way Megan did.
I hope she writes more books, because this one was spectacular!
I got this book because it was a deal of the day on Amazon. I stupidly started the book at 11 at night. I could not stop reading. I was up until 2:30 reading it. It was so well written and so compelling. I finished it today while ignoring my family (which I feel terrible for) but I could not put it down. It was so neat-- from the way she introduced her family so that we would like them but then she slowly added things to further include the whole picture. The story was a story of fortitude but also sadness.
I also loved the prevalence of Twitter in the book. I wondered if perhaps her mom might have freed herself from the Westboro church if she had been able to tap into the outside world the way Megan did.
I hope she writes more books, because this one was spectacular!
This unflinching memoir echos similar books from those who have left other cultish groups. I never seem to tire of reading / learning these stories of awakening, perhaps because they give me hope for the thousands still living under the veil of brainwashing.