Suffocating: Shade’s Story

Back then, I didn’t know; I just knew I was different.

Gathering Your Tools for Healing

CC image courtesy of Flickr, Neil Conway. Editorial note: The following is reprinted with permission from Eleanor Skelton’s blog. It was originally published as a guest post in a series on March 6, 2016. Alyssa is the writer of this post.  Alyssa grew up Independent Fundamental Baptist and was homeschooled throughout her K-12 education.  She currently is in a graduate program to earn

Coming Out About My Unbelief to My Sister

“I’m really growing weary of the charade I have to keep up in order to remain in the atheist closet. I had been talking to my fellow ex-fundamentalist bloggers on Twitter about whether I should come out to my sister, who has always been there for me throughout my life. On Sunday, I was debating whether or not I should come out, but then lost my courage at the last minute. Well, finally, Tuesday night, I finally worked up the courage to finally come out to her.”

Voices of Sister-Moms: Part Five, Samantha Field’s Story

“One day, when I was fourteen years old, I remember asking my mother if she had ever wanted more children than just me and my sister. Her response was an automatic ‘of course.’ And she cried for the rest of the afternoon. That was the first time I heard the word barren.”

I Am Not A Victim, I Am A Survivor

“There are times, like when I’m writing a post like this, that I feel much the same way I did that day: defeated, humiliated, like a victim, but then I remember, I’m a survivor. I fought, and clawed my way towards finally getting the right to start my own life, and won. I survived the toxic self hatred and ignorance of fundamentalism, and cast it aside.”

The Supposed Myth of Teenaged Adolescence: Samantha Field’s Thoughts

“One of the popular elements of the conservative religious homeschooling movement that appeared in the church-cult was the belief that ‘teenage adolescence’ is a modern societal construct and is a completely unnecessary stage. I can remember all the arguments for this vividly.”

We Had To Be So Much More Amazing: Samantha Field’s Story

“I spent most of my childhood in an Independent Fundamental Baptist (IFB) Church, and for that reason we were never part of the larger homeschooling movements…Because of the cult-like environment of the church I was raised in, I never had the opportunity to interact with anyone outside of my church.”

Looking Back At My Fundamentalist Homeschooling Past: Sheldon’s Story

“She was showing me the curriculum she was using. It was the same atrocious Accelerated Christian Education (A.C.E) curriculum we were raised with. I spent my whole school life with it, first in a IFB affiliated private school, then in home school.”