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A review by rachelb313
Unfollow: A Journey from Hatred to Hope by Megan Phelps-Roper
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
This was a super interesting look into the history of the WBC and inside the mind of a person who held those views. I find investigations into extremist religious sects fascinating (ie under the banner of heaven, a guest house for young widows, etc) but it is even more so to hear it from someone who believed it so deeply and changed.
At the end she speaks to how her experience might inform how we bring the trumpers and the qanon people back to reality. Her assertion is that an open marketplace of ideas is the best antidote, but it was the open marketplace of ideas that got them there in the first place. And what began the process for Megan leaving the WBC was noticing hypocrisy and logical fallacies—which we know is not a problem for trumpers/qanon.
I wish there had been a little more about her life after she left and how to continued to evolve and try to mend some of the harm her family did. And I never thought I would cry about the leader of WBC dying but the cruelty he faced from the members of his family and the church he created was heartbreaking.
A very thought provoking book and I highly recommend.
At the end she speaks to how her experience might inform how we bring the trumpers and the qanon people back to reality. Her assertion is that an open marketplace of ideas is the best antidote, but it was the open marketplace of ideas that got them there in the first place. And what began the process for Megan leaving the WBC was noticing hypocrisy and logical fallacies—which we know is not a problem for trumpers/qanon.
I wish there had been a little more about her life after she left and how to continued to evolve and try to mend some of the harm her family did. And I never thought I would cry about the leader of WBC dying but the cruelty he faced from the members of his family and the church he created was heartbreaking.
A very thought provoking book and I highly recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Transphobia