Megan Phelps-Roper – författare

The activist and TED speaker Megan Phelps-Roper reveals her life growing up in the most hated family in AmericaAt 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.

''For anyone who enjoyed Hillbilly Elegy or Educated, Unfollow is an essential text'' - Louis Theroux''Such a moving, redemptive, clear-eyed account of religious indoctrination'' - Pandora Sykes''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'' NPRA Radio Four Book of the Week Pick for June 2021As 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.---More praise for Unfollow''A beautiful, gripping book about a singular soul, and an unexpected redemption'' - Nick Hornby''A modern-day parable for how we should speak and listen to each other'' - Dolly Alderton''Her journey - from Westboro to becoming one of the most empathetic, thoughtful, humanistic writers around - is exceptional and inspiring'' - Jon Ronson''A gripping story, beautifully told . . . It takes real talent to produce a book like this. Its message could not be more urgent'' Sunday Times