Megan Phelps-Roper

LOUIS THEROUX: 'For anyone who enjoyed Hillbilly Elegy or Educated, Unfollow is an essential text' PANDORA SYKES: 'Such a moving, redemptive, clear-eyed account of religious indoctrination' NICK HORNBY: 'A beautiful, gripping book about a singular soul, and an unexpected redemption' DOLLY ALDERTON: 'A modern-day parable for how we should speak and listen to each other' JON RONSON: 'Her journey - from Westboro to becoming one of the most empathetic, thoughtful, humanistic writers around - is exceptional and inspiring' An Amazon Best Book of 2019 As featured on the BBC documentaries, 'The Most Hated Family in America' and 'Surviving America's Most Hated Family' It was an upbringing in many ways normal. A loving home, shared with squabbling siblings, overseen by devoted parents. Yet in other ways it was the precise opposite: a revolving door of TV camera crews and documentary makers, a world of extreme discipline, of siblings vanishing in the night. Megan Phelps-Roper was raised in the Westboro Baptist Church - the fire-and-brimstone religious sect at once aggressively homophobic and anti-Semitic, rejoiceful for AIDS and natural disasters, and notorious for its picketing the funerals of American soldiers. From her first public protest, aged five, to her instrumental role in spreading the church's invective via social media, her formative years brought their difficulties. But being reviled was not one of them. She was preaching God's truth. She was, in her words, 'all in'. In November 2012, at the age of twenty-six, she left the church, her family, and her life behind. Unfollow is a story about the rarest thing of all: a person changing their mind. It is a fascinating insight into a closed world of extreme belief, a biography of a complex family, and a hope-inspiring memoir of a young woman finding the courage to find compassion for others, as well as herself. --- 'A gripping story, beautifully told . . . It takes real talent to produce a book like this. Its message could not be more urgent' Sunday Times 'Hate's kryptonite' Washington Examiner 'An exceptional book' The Times 'A nuanced portrait of the lure and pain of zealotry' New York Times 'Unfolds like a suspense novel . . . A brave, unsettling, and fascinating memoir about the damage done by religious fundamentalism' NPR

A Journey from Hatred to Hope, leaving the Westboro Baptist Church

Unfollow

Milou albrecht 

Sarah Schumacher

4.5 stars. Mind boggling and heartbreaking. Seemed to start slow, but stick with it. It was surprising to read about the closeness and love amongst her family, which only emphasizes the strength it took to leave.

The activist and TED speaker Megan Phelps-Roper reveals her life growing up in the most hated family in America At the age of five, Megan Phelps-Roper began protesting homosexuality and other alleged vices alongside fellow members of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas. Founded by her grandfather and consisting almost entirely of her extended family, the tiny group would gain worldwide notoriety for its pickets at military funerals and celebrations of death and tragedy. As Phelps-Roper grew up, she saw that church members were close companions and accomplished debaters, applying the logic of predestination and the language of the King James Bible to everyday life with aplomb—which, as the church’s Twitter spokeswoman, she learned to do with great skill. Soon, however, dialogue on Twitter caused her to begin doubting the church’s leaders and message: If humans were sinful and fallible, how could the church itself be so confident about its beliefs? As she digitally jousted with critics, she started to wonder if sometimes they had a point—and then she began exchanging messages with a man who would help change her life. A gripping memoir of escaping extremism and falling in love, Unfollow relates Phelps-Roper’s moral awakening, her departure from the church, and how she exchanged the absolutes she grew up with for new forms of warmth and community. Rich with suspense and thoughtful reflection, Phelps-Roper’s life story exposes the dangers of black-and-white thinking and the need for true humility in a time of angry polarization.

A Memoir of Loving and Leaving the Westboro Baptist Church

Georgia Carr

I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this. Megan is a wonderful author and this story should definitely be heard.

Michelle Li

i remember megan’s story very vividly, from reading her incredible new yorker profile in the new yorker by adrian chen in 2015, which caught my memory and heart in the midst of all that was holding my fleeting attention in college. when i saw her new memoir at my bookstore recently, i knew i had to read it. i am moved by her courage in interrogating herself and beliefs and choosing her own. i devoured this on my flight to japan. 

she writes about the religion and indoctrination she was raised in (specifically westboro baptist church), which consists of basically her family preaching hate, and her journey of leaving it all after being on twitter where she was open to talking to ppl who offered her grace and compassion despite her being in a religion spewing hate. little moments of contradictions supported by friendly discourse led to an unraveling of her strong beliefs for 26 years. she learned to change and challenge what she knew and it's all told so courageously! i appreciated how much context and foundation she provided to share with us how fervent of a follower she was. i personally didn’t care for any bible verses (which the first part of the book has lotsss of) but understood it as important for her foundational learning. 

regardless of if you care about the westboro church, it’s ultimately a universal book about how we learn what we learn and how to step into the uncertainty of everything beyond a confining black and white mindset, which can expand our compassion and understanding of others. especially in this time of magnified fear and hate facilitated by social media. 

i think really interesting also for ex-religion ppl to read in terms of the conflict of being raised in a set of precepts and values which creates a foundation of who you are vs searching for your own principles in the uncertainty of the gray area that is life :-) 

also, it’s pretty much a book on why we shouldn't cancel ppl and how we should treat others with different perspectives as ppl who are capable of improvement rather than to be punished. 

“Others with stories like mine have shown me repeatedly that the root of Westboro’s ideology—the idea that our beliefs were “the one true way”—is not by any means limited to Westboro members. In truth, that idea is common, widespread, and on display everywhere humans gather, from religious circles to political ones. It gives a comforting sense of certainty, freeing the believer from existential angst and providing a sense of stability—a foundation on which to build a life. But the costs of that certainty can be enormous and difficult to identify. Ultimately, the same quality that makes Westboro so easy to dismiss—its extremism—is also what helps highlight the destructive nature of viewing the world in black and white, the danger of becoming calcified in a position and impervious to change.”

Kyra Cracchiola

While this was sounded realllly interesting (story of a woman who grew up in the West Baptist Church in the height of their shenanigans) it was difficult to listen to at times. I felt like the first half was really fast paced, lots of things happening, lots of strong opinions.. then when her and her sister decided to leave the church it seemed really abrupt in storytelling. Def was a long book though so idk where really all the content was lol 

Aleena Korell

This is a wild ride. Heartbreaking and thought-provoking, articulate, emotional, candid. Megan walks us through her first memories of picketing with WBC all the way to where she is now and all the transformations and events that got her there. I'm sure it was therapeutic for her to write and put out into the world, but I think there are many people out there who might find encouragement/healing by reading this as well. I don't have to agree with every conclusion she comes to in the end in order to understand how she came to them and respect the strength and humility it took to get where she is now.

Kayla 

Unfollow is about Megan’s life born and raised within the Westboro Baptist Church community and how she came to leave the church with her sister. 

I remember watching the documentary episodes about this community years ago and so when I read that Megan left the church I was shocked! It wasn’t that I even knew her, but when watching the documentary she seemed like the most ardent supporter and faithful member. 

I admire her bravery to not only leave but share her story. I can only imagine how difficult both are as they both involve leaving behind a community and family that loved and cared for you. I thought it was very well written and easy to follow chronologically.

Neva Davies

Full of heart

When I first placed a hold on Unfollow, I didn't give too much thought as to what Unfollow was going to do to me emotionally.

Unfollow takes us through the life of Megan Phelps-Roper, and the church she had grown up in. This means we get to see the cult-like atmosphere of the church, and the fact that the church mostly contained family. 

Unfollow is heart-breaking and thought-provoking. Everyone should read it, if only to see the change of heart and growth of one of the ex-members of the Westboro Baptist Church.

Grace Emilia Machon

Heady gorgeous prose makes the repulsive nature of WBCs views jump out in juxtaposition. 
This is so different from any other “I was in a cult” memoir I have ever read. Megan is obviously an incredibly intelligent person who is full of empathy but who was born surrounded by hateful ideas whilst still very much loved. 
I found her story so moving and relatable whilst her families believes where so extreme.

Randy Robbins

This book exceeded my expectations. Living in Kansas City, I have seen WBC many times in my life over the years. I use to hear Meghan on a local radio station regularly defending their views and there was also a lot of coverage in KC about the church. I had always been naturally curious about the mindset of these people.

Meghan goes into incredible detail and does so in an eloquent manner. She takes these people who we can easily discount as evil and not view them as individual people who would have family or be capable of love. In this book, Meghan helps frame them as people that live life like many do in some ways while living drastically different in others.

Meghan did an incredible job writing this book and the way she approached her story was interesting and heartfelt. I am glad I took the time to read it.

Aimee Ardonne

Kweh Quiambao

Taya Reznichenko

Caroline Oestergaard

Landon Alder

Shelby Whitfield

Amelia Lin

Kathy Rodger 

At the age of five, Phelps-Roper began protesting homosexuality and other alleged vices alongside fellow members of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas. Founded by her grandfather and consisting almost entirely of her extended family, the tiny group would gain worldwide notoriety for its pickets at military funerals and celebrations of death and tragedy. She became the church's Twitter spokeswoman, but dialogue on Twitter caused her to begin doubting the church's leaders and message. Here she relates her moral awakening, her departure from the church, and how she exchanged the absolutes she grew up with for new forms of warmth and community.

Unfollow A Journey from Hatred to Hope, leaving the Westboro Baptist Church

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