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A review by sarahanne8382
Off the Deep End: Jerry and Becki Falwell and the Collapse of an Evangelical Dynasty by Mark Ebner, Giancarlo Granda
3.0
While some people love murder podcast, I love corrupt evangelicals podcasts, so I've listened to several featuring the story of the downfall of Jerry Falwell, Jr. and the toxic culture he fostered on the Liberty University campus.
One of the stories that helped unravel this whole scandal was the tale of the "pool boy" that slept with Jerry's wife, Becki on and off for over 5 years, and now we finally get to hear Giancarlo Granda's side of the story. I think one of the key pieces of this story is that because of the access the Falwell's gave Granda, it became clear that they weren't just grooming young adults for inappropriate sexual relationships, but they were also master manipulators of the Liberty community and the wider community of evangelicals who took his endorsement of Donald Trump as all the evidence they needed to put aside all of his decidedly un-evangelical behavior and elect him President.
It's a slow motion train wreck that's still unfolding and I feel terrible that I needed to know all the details and yet satisfied that I'm now confident I know whose stories to give more credence to in this whole mess. Granda and his co-author made sure to dot the "i"s and cross the "t"s, so this feels like a complete recounting of a sordid tale. There's a new documentary out on Hulu that has significant cooperation from Granda and his co-author, so if you've seen that and don't want to take the time to read a book covering similar ground, you won't miss much.
One of the stories that helped unravel this whole scandal was the tale of the "pool boy" that slept with Jerry's wife, Becki on and off for over 5 years, and now we finally get to hear Giancarlo Granda's side of the story. I think one of the key pieces of this story is that because of the access the Falwell's gave Granda, it became clear that they weren't just grooming young adults for inappropriate sexual relationships, but they were also master manipulators of the Liberty community and the wider community of evangelicals who took his endorsement of Donald Trump as all the evidence they needed to put aside all of his decidedly un-evangelical behavior and elect him President.
It's a slow motion train wreck that's still unfolding and I feel terrible that I needed to know all the details and yet satisfied that I'm now confident I know whose stories to give more credence to in this whole mess. Granda and his co-author made sure to dot the "i"s and cross the "t"s, so this feels like a complete recounting of a sordid tale. There's a new documentary out on Hulu that has significant cooperation from Granda and his co-author, so if you've seen that and don't want to take the time to read a book covering similar ground, you won't miss much.