Disobedient Women: How a Small Group of Faithful Women Exposed Abuse, Brought Down Powerful Pastors, and Started an Evangelical Reckoning

Journalist Stankorb debuts with an intimate and engrossing look at how a small number of evangelical women have engaged in an “online battle” with the American evangelical church, challenging the rigid gender roles favored by ultraconservative church leaders. Drawing on candid interviews with her subjects, Stankorb profiles Vyckie Garrison, a former member of the Quiverfull pro-life ministry, who launched the No Longer Quivering blog as a resource for women seeking to disengage from ultraconservative branches of the church; Ashley Easter, founder of stayathomedaughter.com, a website that promoted the doctrine of female submission (including the idea that daughters should stay at home until marriage) until Easter discovered the benefits of “an equitable relationship”; and the members of Recovering Grace, a website launched in 2011 to help young women abused by Pastor Bill Gothard, head of the nonprofit Institute of Basic Life Principles, who resigned under a cloud of suspicion in 2014. By sifting through the history of these blogs and websites, Stankorb sheds fascinating light on the process of deprogramming from extremist religion. Weaving in her own faith journey as the child of an abusive alcoholic father, Stankorb delivers a compassionate portrait of pain and perseverance. (Aug.)