Description
"In her luminous debut, Stalvey meditates on her separation from fundamentalist Christianity and how she found love despite questioning her faith. " --Publishers Weekly, starred review
Interrogating her own upbringing in an evangelical community, Stephanie Stalvey weaves a story of faith, alienation, romance and acceptance, in this beautifully painted graphic memoir.
Stephanie grew up in an evangelical community where love and obedience were overlapping themes. In this world, sin was inevitable, her body was a temptation, and desire was dangerous. Her own thoughts could not be trusted, because she was only saved if she believed the "right things" about God.
But as she grew, built a life of her own, and fell in love with a young seminarian named James, the complexities of the human experience became impossible to ignore. Was God truly so exacting and judgmental? Could faith exist beyond these rigid borders? Could love be both passionate and pure? Her connection to James--honest, caring and sensual--became a safe place for her worldview to expand. And when their son was born, she understood love in a whole new way... suddenly, everything was sacred, everything was in color.
Through striking prose and beautiful mixed media illustrations, Stalvey takes us on an emotional journey of faith, romance, motherhood and loss. With tenderness and honesty, she unravels the fear and guilt woven into her past, reclaims her sense of self, and shows us how to embrace a love that is healing, transformative, and wholly one's own.
Description
"In her luminous debut, Stalvey meditates on her separation from fundamentalist Christianity and how she found love despite questioning her faith. " --Publishers Weekly, starred review
Interrogating her own upbringing in an evangelical community, Stephanie Stalvey weaves a story of faith, alienation, romance and acceptance, in this beautifully painted graphic memoir.
Stephanie grew up in an evangelical community where love and obedience were overlapping themes. In this world, sin was inevitable, her body was a temptation, and desire was dangerous. Her own thoughts could not be trusted, because she was only saved if she believed the "right things" about God.
But as she grew, built a life of her own, and fell in love with a young seminarian named James, the complexities of the human experience became impossible to ignore. Was God truly so exacting and judgmental? Could faith exist beyond these rigid borders? Could love be both passionate and pure? Her connection to James--honest, caring and sensual--became a safe place for her worldview to expand. And when their son was born, she understood love in a whole new way... suddenly, everything was sacred, everything was in color.
Through striking prose and beautiful mixed media illustrations, Stalvey takes us on an emotional journey of faith, romance, motherhood and loss. With tenderness and honesty, she unravels the fear and guilt woven into her past, reclaims her sense of self, and shows us how to embrace a love that is healing, transformative, and wholly one's own.
