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947 reviews for:
Unfollow: A Memoir of Loving and Leaving the Westboro Baptist Church
Megan Phelps-Roper
4.15 AVERAGE
947 reviews for:
Unfollow: A Memoir of Loving and Leaving the Westboro Baptist Church
Megan Phelps-Roper
4.15 AVERAGE
I wish the author would’ve spent more time discussing the people she learned from and the influence they had after leaving. I did appreciate the backstory and detail of her childhood and relationships growing up. The bravery to leave and compassion she has for the people she left behind are inspirational.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
A great read to understand how beliefs can be so whole-heartedly believed, even something so universally/outwardly terrible as the WBC. This wasn't just a gossip story about a controlling cult but a deconstruction of beliefs and building up a hope for the future.
I hadn't planned on reading this book but it came up available and I'm always interested in cult survivor stories.
Phelps-Roper is a great writer. She described her childhood and faith journey with the Bible verses her family used to justify everything, something that's helpful for those of us who haven't memorized the book, and explained why the family pickets. How they twist the the Bible's words to their narrow interpretation. Good for her and Grace, for getting out. I hope her siblings follow them out.
Phelps-Roper is a great writer. She described her childhood and faith journey with the Bible verses her family used to justify everything, something that's helpful for those of us who haven't memorized the book, and explained why the family pickets. How they twist the the Bible's words to their narrow interpretation. Good for her and Grace, for getting out. I hope her siblings follow them out.
This is NOT a light read!
Are you ready to ponder the point of your existence? The reason you believe every single thing that you do?
Do you want to have your mind blown by how long ago 2011 was?
Do you want to witness someone learn the skill of cognitive flexibility?
Do you want to read through some... difficult... family dynamics?
Are you ready to use the dictionary and read multiple King James Bible verses?
Go for it.
Are you ready to ponder the point of your existence? The reason you believe every single thing that you do?
Do you want to have your mind blown by how long ago 2011 was?
Do you want to witness someone learn the skill of cognitive flexibility?
Do you want to read through some... difficult... family dynamics?
Are you ready to use the dictionary and read multiple King James Bible verses?
Go for it.
I think most Americans are familiar with the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka Kansas, which made a name for itself by traveling around the country protesting LGBTQ-related activities with signs which included sayings such as "God Hates Fags" and "Death Penalty 4 Fags", and protesting across the street from soldiers' funerals with signs such as "Thank God for Dead Soldiers" and "Thank God for IEDs". Church members strive to get in front of the media in any way possible to spread their vile and hateful messages. They also hate Jews, Muslims, and other Christian denominations. Their website address is www.godhatesfags.com for crying out loud! What would Jesus thing about this?!
The Church celebrates tragedy and death and makes public statements and celebrated deaths of famous people such as Princess Diana and Mother Theresa "two whores in a week" and Mr. Rogers "sissy pied piper from hell". The 911 attacks were especially gleeful for them as they viewed this as justful punishment for a wicked country.
Back in 2017, a group of Westboro members traveled to the city I work in, Maple Grove MN, and protested outside the high school (which prided itself for being LGBTQ friendly) and a Maple Grove hospital which gave abortions. A person I worked with showed me an email from the school asking students and their parents to ignore them and not engage with them in anyway.
In her book, Megan Phelps-Roper tells the story of the founding of the Church by her grandfather Fred Phelps, who broke away from another Baptist church in 1955. The church had righteous intentions in its beginning as Fred Phelps was on the correct side of the Civil Rights movement and used the pulpit to spread messages of racial equality. But in the 1980s he became upset with gays in Topeka and down the rabbit hole he and his congregation went.
From a very young age Megan attended picketings along with her parents and siblings, holding signs and yelling the Church's hateful messages at anyone in earshot. She was taught that humans were either a Jacob (loved by God) (Westboro and the like) or an Esau (hated by God)(all the rest of us humans). As she got older she spread the Church's messages via its Twitter page. This would prove to be a turning point for Megan as she had debates and conversations with those on the outside (Esaus), some of whom got through to her and made her question the beliefs which she was indoctrinated in since birth.
When some church elders wrestled control of the church away from Fred and her parents and instituted new rules for women regarding behavior and dress, her doubts about the Church's intentions intensified. The new church leadership treated the Phelps family poorly and strictly enforced their new restrictive guidelines. Finally, at the age of 26, Megan decided to run away with her younger sister Grace both of them knowing that they would be cut off from family and friends. She was terrified to leave but her life was not good. It took a lot of courage to cut the connection from her family and the only life she knew and escape to the real world. There is a poignant scene at the end of the book which raps up the book in an emotional way.
I thought this book was excellent! I found the story of the Church interesting - how it evolved from Fred's original vision to the shit show it currently is. I love "leaving religion" stories and Megan's story is intense and fascinating. She's come full circle. I've heard her on a number of podcasts and she even has a TED Talk. I listened to this on Audible and Megan herself told her story with feeling and compassion. She is intelligent and articulate and she was the perfect person to reveal the inner workings and agenda of the crazy Westboro organization.
4.5 stars.
The Church celebrates tragedy and death and makes public statements and celebrated deaths of famous people such as Princess Diana and Mother Theresa "two whores in a week" and Mr. Rogers "sissy pied piper from hell". The 911 attacks were especially gleeful for them as they viewed this as justful punishment for a wicked country.
Back in 2017, a group of Westboro members traveled to the city I work in, Maple Grove MN, and protested outside the high school (which prided itself for being LGBTQ friendly) and a Maple Grove hospital which gave abortions. A person I worked with showed me an email from the school asking students and their parents to ignore them and not engage with them in anyway.
In her book, Megan Phelps-Roper tells the story of the founding of the Church by her grandfather Fred Phelps, who broke away from another Baptist church in 1955. The church had righteous intentions in its beginning as Fred Phelps was on the correct side of the Civil Rights movement and used the pulpit to spread messages of racial equality. But in the 1980s he became upset with gays in Topeka and down the rabbit hole he and his congregation went.
From a very young age Megan attended picketings along with her parents and siblings, holding signs and yelling the Church's hateful messages at anyone in earshot. She was taught that humans were either a Jacob (loved by God) (Westboro and the like) or an Esau (hated by God)(all the rest of us humans). As she got older she spread the Church's messages via its Twitter page. This would prove to be a turning point for Megan as she had debates and conversations with those on the outside (Esaus), some of whom got through to her and made her question the beliefs which she was indoctrinated in since birth.
When some church elders wrestled control of the church away from Fred and her parents and instituted new rules for women regarding behavior and dress, her doubts about the Church's intentions intensified. The new church leadership treated the Phelps family poorly and strictly enforced their new restrictive guidelines. Finally, at the age of 26, Megan decided to run away with her younger sister Grace both of them knowing that they would be cut off from family and friends. She was terrified to leave but her life was not good. It took a lot of courage to cut the connection from her family and the only life she knew and escape to the real world. There is a poignant scene at the end of the book which raps up the book in an emotional way.
I thought this book was excellent! I found the story of the Church interesting - how it evolved from Fred's original vision to the shit show it currently is. I love "leaving religion" stories and Megan's story is intense and fascinating. She's come full circle. I've heard her on a number of podcasts and she even has a TED Talk. I listened to this on Audible and Megan herself told her story with feeling and compassion. She is intelligent and articulate and she was the perfect person to reveal the inner workings and agenda of the crazy Westboro organization.
4.5 stars.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
Wowza.
Had to go back and change the stars from 4 to 5 because I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since I finished it a few weeks ago.
Had to go back and change the stars from 4 to 5 because I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since I finished it a few weeks ago.