I’ve had a lot of different people write for The Erstwhile Philistine over the years, but this is the first time my wife Leslie has ever volunteered anything. When she approached me with the idea, I immediately said yes with excitement, and not just because I share a bed with her. She’s a darn fine writer and thinker in her own right. I think you will really enjoy her take on the new book Girl at the End of the World. –Asher
The publishing market seems to be flooded these days with memoirs and essay collections on faith and spiritual journeys. I’ll be the first to admit I’m a sucker for the genre, and love the writings of authors from Lauren Winner to Frederick Buechner to Ann Voscamp, and so many others. I’m at a point in my life where I’m still working through a lot of my own questions about God and Christianity; and I am having an ongoing conversation with the faith I grew up with: what do I keep, what do I modify, what do I hang on to because it’s really my own and what do I discard because I just don’t believe it anymore? I find spiritual memoirs fascinating because they provide a glimpse into how other people have navigated these same questions.
However, this type of writing isn’t always done well. For instance, I felt Carolyn Weber’s Surprised by Oxford, while conceptually fascinating, suffered from clunky dialogue- I read it back in January and almost abandoned it multiple times because it was just hard to read. Reconstructing one’s past and tracing the thread of a spiritual journey is hard- it requires honesty, vulnerability, discretion and of course, the ability to write clearly and well.
I’ve followed Elizabeth Esther’s blog for some months now and when her first book, Girl at the End of the World, came out last week I dove right into it. I was expecting good things from what I already knew of her story and her writing abilities, but the book exceeded my expectations by far- I couldn’t put it down and stayed awake reading late into the night until I made it to the end.
Elizabeth Esther grew up in a fundamentalist cult founded by her paternal grandparents; she spends most of the book describing how she grew up and the way fundamentalism affected her. Sometimes her descriptions of the abusive child-rearing practices of the group are absolutely chilling, and painful to read. But while the book is often sobering, it is far from depressing. Esther is a fabulous story teller and her writing is full of warmth and humor. She is straightforward about her experiences and how they harmed her, but never sounds bitter. And the glimpse she gives into the fundamentalist life style is fascinating- from modesty standards to apocalypse survival plans.
Most of all, though, Girl at the End of the World stands out as a testimony to God’s faithfulness to his children. Although Esther had every reason to turn her back on the church forever once she escaped the cult, she slowly found her way back to faith in God and His goodness. Today she is a Catholic, a wife and mom of five, a blogger and an advocate for children- she has appeared on Anderson Cooper to discuss the abusive child rearing practices taught by Michael Pearl. Perhaps even more amazingly, she has a relationship today with her parents, who finally were able to acknowledge the harm they had done her as a child. My biggest complaint about the book was that I really wanted to hear more about her conversion to Catholicism, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed for another book in the future!
As I’m sure you can already tell, I enthusiastically recommend this book and think it’s well worth the read. Don’t automatically dismiss it if you’re not a woman, either- the insights on fundamentalism and on faith span gender lines, and no matter what your beliefs or faith background, Girl at the End of the World will absolutely give you many ideas to consider and reflect on.
With all that said, I am giving away a copy of Girl at the End of the World to one of you. This is totally on my own initiative, just because I think it’s a great book and because I want to show some love to you wonderful Philistine readers! All you need to do to enter this giveaway is leave a comment on this post telling us why you’d like to win. I will randomly select one commenter and send you a copy! Are you excited? I am. Giveaway will close at midnight (central time) on Saturday, March 29th, and is open to US residents only. Good luck!
Leslie Gelzer-Govatos spends her days reading, writing, drinking coffee, and wrangling two beautiful children in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She also has a husband, who is much less cool than her.
Image may be NSFW.
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Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
