The Book of Mormon Girl: A Memoir of an American Faith by Joanna Brooks
Joanna Brooks got a lot of attention during Mitt Romney's campaign (she was on Jon Stewart - the height of fame!) and became an unofficial spokesperson of sorts for the LDS church. I was introduced to her a few years ago when I heard her read an entertaining and intriguing excerpt from her book, plus I currently get notifications when she posts on her Ask Mormon Girl blog. She's a feminist, a liberal, and not afraid to speak up for herself and the things she believes in. This book is a memoir of her journey to get to this place in her life, and it was a fascinating, funny, thought-provoking, amen-sister kind of book. (For the most part, but I'll get to that in a sec.)
The memoir takes you through Joanna's growing up years in Southern California and she paints a vivid, accurate portrait of what it was like. She creates a really solid foundation for the struggles that came later and that foundation sets up the rest of Joanna's story in a way that makes sense of her decisions and choices and creates some beautiful themes throughout. Though Joanna is currently a member of the Church, she considered herself to be "in exile" for about ten years after a series of excommunications of semi high-profile feminists within the Church that occurred during the nineties, and her journey back is compelling, though a tiny bit rushed (I thought).
While I found a lot to relate to, Joanna's experiences and feelings diverge from my own in some pretty distinctive ways. Which isn't to say I couldn't appreciate what she wrote and how she wrote it and especially her courage in telling her story, but it sometimes frustrates me that many of the well-known LDS nonfiction authors are so...unorthodox. Frustrates me because it's one version of the Mormon story that I know from my experiences in grad school can give a skewed perception of the Church overall. (It also gives me hope because I'd like to be that LDS nonfiction author who tells the slightly less harrowing story of being a more orthodox member of the Church from Utah who still has something worth saying.) I am glad that the unorthodox stories are out there because they really do need to be told, especially for members of the Church - we are very different people with unique trials, doubts, journeys, and perspectives, and once we dig into these stories, that's when we begin to break that Mormon cookie-cutter mold. So that's good. Just speaking as someone who fits that cookie-cutter mold in all the obvious ways, I feel like mine is still a story worth sharing.
So all that aside, this is a great read. The first bit is a wonderful slice of Mormon life in the 70s with all the quirks and fears and grand destinies that come with growing up in the Church, and the overall themes and messages are beautiful. Definite recommend with 3 1/2 to 4 stars.
Joanna Brooks got a lot of attention during Mitt Romney's campaign (she was on Jon Stewart - the height of fame!) and became an unofficial spokesperson of sorts for the LDS church. I was introduced to her a few years ago when I heard her read an entertaining and intriguing excerpt from her book, plus I currently get notifications when she posts on her Ask Mormon Girl blog. She's a feminist, a liberal, and not afraid to speak up for herself and the things she believes in. This book is a memoir of her journey to get to this place in her life, and it was a fascinating, funny, thought-provoking, amen-sister kind of book. (For the most part, but I'll get to that in a sec.)
The memoir takes you through Joanna's growing up years in Southern California and she paints a vivid, accurate portrait of what it was like. She creates a really solid foundation for the struggles that came later and that foundation sets up the rest of Joanna's story in a way that makes sense of her decisions and choices and creates some beautiful themes throughout. Though Joanna is currently a member of the Church, she considered herself to be "in exile" for about ten years after a series of excommunications of semi high-profile feminists within the Church that occurred during the nineties, and her journey back is compelling, though a tiny bit rushed (I thought).
While I found a lot to relate to, Joanna's experiences and feelings diverge from my own in some pretty distinctive ways. Which isn't to say I couldn't appreciate what she wrote and how she wrote it and especially her courage in telling her story, but it sometimes frustrates me that many of the well-known LDS nonfiction authors are so...unorthodox. Frustrates me because it's one version of the Mormon story that I know from my experiences in grad school can give a skewed perception of the Church overall. (It also gives me hope because I'd like to be that LDS nonfiction author who tells the slightly less harrowing story of being a more orthodox member of the Church from Utah who still has something worth saying.) I am glad that the unorthodox stories are out there because they really do need to be told, especially for members of the Church - we are very different people with unique trials, doubts, journeys, and perspectives, and once we dig into these stories, that's when we begin to break that Mormon cookie-cutter mold. So that's good. Just speaking as someone who fits that cookie-cutter mold in all the obvious ways, I feel like mine is still a story worth sharing.
So all that aside, this is a great read. The first bit is a wonderful slice of Mormon life in the 70s with all the quirks and fears and grand destinies that come with growing up in the Church, and the overall themes and messages are beautiful. Definite recommend with 3 1/2 to 4 stars.
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