Heretic audiobook

Some books just get a grip on your heart and don't let go - and for me, Heretic is one of those books. Weaving personal story with broader cultural examinations, Kadlec's memoir balances intense vulnerability with rich, essential insights on the evangelical church, white supremacy, and the far right movement. Works like this are increasingly important, particularly in the United States in 2022, and Kadlec understands the necessity of exploring American history through the lens of Protestant theology, highlighting the ways that this mindset has entrenched itself in American policy, education, culture, and even the way we understand and teach our own history. This book is essential reading for anyone who has lost themselves in a larger system, particularly religious institutions, and serves as a healing balm for the queer community. Endlessly grateful to have gotten to read early drafts and an advance copy of this book - I know I'll be revisiting it over and over again.

A devastating and generous memoir about growing up in an evangelical, Midwestern family and the author's grief as she wakes up to the painful, discriminatory systems that governed her world. Jeanna Kadlec pushes through the shame of religious trauma to share her experiences with divorce, losing her faith, and coming out as queer. There is so much in this book that is necessary and urgent: how Christian fascism is baked into the DNA of American culture and government, the normalization of all kinds of abuse within religious communities, and how scripture has been twisted to support racism, sexism and homophobia. It is smart and beautiful, tackling its subject matter on micro and macro levels. I did not grow up with organized religion, and my atheist childhood made it hard for me to detect the creeping sexist ideas my ex held about marriage and the role of women, rooted in his Christian worldview. On a personal note, Kadlec's stories of sexual coercion and the pressure to submit to her husband gave me the lens I needed to understand my relationship. "The church teaches that two become one, that marriage is the death of individuals and the birth of a new union. What is the self, then, within an evangelical marriage? A disappearance, an invisible woman." This book is a gift, and a challenge. I find myself wondering if the negative reviews here on Goodreads are a knee-jerk reaction from devoutly religious folks who find its premise personally threatening.

As a fellow Midwestern ex-pat bearing scars from religious trauma, Heretic, Jeanna Kadlec's forthright, righteous, ambitious, and deeply compassionate memoir about unlearning evangelicalism and making one's own community, feels like it was written for me. And while parts of this book resonated with my own experience so much that I exclaimed "WHOA!" a number of times whilst reading, much of what kept engrossed to the last end stop was not where our experiences overlapped, but rather Kadlec's unique, sometimes surprising path towards radical self-love.Judging by the number of reviews of this book by people who clearly haven't read it, Kadlec's unflinching take on the evangelical rot that's been a feature of the US since before its founding and that is currently driving the nation towards fascism has ruffled some feathers. Good. I can't think of a higher compliment for this book than that it enrages Christofascists. A part of me also hopes that in the process of searching for gotcha-takes in the text, some initially hostile readers come to appreciate and learn from the hard-won grace Kadlec extends to her past self, the deep intelligence with which she navigates intersections of identity, privilege, and trauma, and the wit and humor that shine through.Also? Reading Heretic has made me really, really excited to see what Kadlec does next. Whatever it is, I'm confident that it'll be as smart, penetrating, and remarkable as this book is.

A beautiful story of rebirth! As a non-religious, queer woman living in a very religious culture, this book was eye-opening! So many of the stories seemed so familiar and helped me to better understand the experience of my religious peers! The author writes in a raw, vulnerable voice that felt both authentic and trustworthy.

This was part social commentary, part exploration into one woman’s specific journey to accept her authentic self after a lifetime of indoctrination which told her that her life is not hers (it belongs to Jesus, above all, and should be directed by her husband on earth). I am not queer, I am not an ex-evangelical (though I have recently stepped away from the Catholic Church) and I have been with the same man for fifteen years, but I found so much of this memoir to be relatable. Maybe it’s because I grew up Midwest adjacent, maybe it’s because Kadlec and I went to the same college and there are certain experiences that rang true, maybe it’s because I also am trying to reconcile what I thought my life would look like vs. what it actually is. But I found myself nodding my head quite a bit, thinking, “Yes, I know this feeling,” even when my circumstances were wildly different. I enjoyed the ways the author made this educational, how she explained how her evangelical faith not only shaped her life but also shaped this country’s, how she criticizes without condemning. There is an underlying empathy towards the people who have not left the church, but who have left Kadlec, that I’m not sure I would possess in similar circumstances. I disagree with other reviewers that didn’t like the writing style; while later chapters did seem a little disjointed due to the timeline jumps, I also think it is a reflection of what this time period felt like for the author. A little jumbled, a little chaotic, at once freeing and heartbreaking. I think there were things that could have been explored more in-depth, especially the loss of community and the rebuilding of another, but I also recognize that leaving the church (and therefore most of the meaningful relationships in her life) was a traumatic experience for her and I don’t think I’m owed anyone else’s trauma (even in a memoir). The voice that others think is dry is authentic to me - people raised in rural, midwestern farming communities have built walls that don’t often jive with the warm, casserole loving people depicted in the media - because liberals born from conservative environments are jaded and acerbic. Others think the tone is too inflammatory, but of course it is. This memoir burns with anger, with brokenness, because even wounds that are healing leave nasty scars. In the end, I think we’re all searching for ourselves, to trust the paths we have taken, and I appreciated this honest glimpse into how Kadlec learned to do that for herself.

Jeanna Kadlec is a skilled writer who has taken a compelling personal narrative & weaved in theory, academics, & deep understanding of evangelicalism, queerness & spirituality. I loved this book because it echoes so much of my own journey — it made me feel seen & understood. But beyond that, it is brilliant on a craft level. Even if you didn’t leave the church, if you want to understand purity culture/white evangelicalism/the GOP or queerness or tarot or yourself better, this book is for you. What a gift.

I think memoirs can be valuable and enriching for the windows they provide for us to other experiences. especially lately, I've found power in the resonances I feel with queer memoirs specifically - they give me words for emotions I didn't know how to name. this book resonated with me like a GONG and I am so so grateful to the author for sharing her story and for how she crafted this beautiful memoir. this, indeed, helped me name emotions I didn't realize I hadn't processed or knew I was putting off for years. it also opened my eyes to new outlets and avenues for spirituality and spiritual processing - can you believe I bought my first tarot deck just a few weeks before picking this up on a whim? I feel intrigued and excited to continue growing as a queer person, as a former christian, to see new ways of building community and discovering spirituality. I highly recommend this to anyone and everyone but especially queer ex-christians, no matter how long ago your experiences were - I think this will hit you upside the head in the best way.

i’ve been really excited about this book. i preordered it and watched the book event via youtube. my favorite parts were when kadlec was recounting her experience. this is a braided narrative, and there is a lot of information about the history of the church. i understand why that needed to be included in a memoir of this nature, but it wasn’t as enjoyable to read as the other parts. the first few pages are amazing. i wish i had gotten more of kadlec’s story.

This is a deeply important work of writing. Kadlec’s ability to interweave her personal journey with bold and moving cultural critiques makes this a poignant and heartfelt invitation to see our own world through new lenses. You will be moved and inspired by this book; I want wait to share it with everyone I know.

In Heretic, Kadlec discusses/processes her evangelical upbringing, abusive marriage to a pastor’s son, and eventual sexual awakening. It’s littered with tons of cultural/political references that probably could have been pared down, but overall it was an interesting read. I enjoyed the front half a lot more than the last few chapters. 3.5 rounded up.

This was a really interesting read! Kadlec discusses her evangelical upbringing, the rigidity of it all and her all-in faith, growing up and discovering her queerness, and the after effects of walking away from the faith she relied on so heavily in her youth. It feels very sad a lot of the time, but is interspersed with joy and hope as well. This book did feel a little all over the place in what kind of genre it was. It was definitely memoir, but then there was just pure researched non-fiction, some sorta self-help, and some history. I wish it were a bit more cohesive overall and that it stuck more to memoir and Kadlec's growth. 3.5 stars rounded up!Thank you to Harper of Harper Collins Publishing for the advanced copy!

As a queer ex-Catholic from New England, I don't share Jeanna Kadlec's exact story. But I *did* connect with her words, page after page. The echo in my heart had me frantically highlighting passages, knowing I'll be desperate to read them again later. This book is honest, empowering, and provides a really nuanced and thoughtful depiction of life after church. I can't help but feel like it's a particularly necessary book for this moment, as well. I was in the middle of this memoir when Roe V. Wade was overturned, and I wanted to shake it at the sky like, yes, see, this is how this happened. This is how this happened. And maybe, maybe, maybe; this is how we take care of each other. Reach for healing. Escape. Dream. Thank you for this book, Jeanna. And for sharing so much of yourself in it. It matters quite a lot, maybe now more than ever.