Joy Unspeakable is a must-read for any ex-fundamentalist. Author Joy Hopper shares her story out of her abusive marriage and out of her own mental prison with honesty and good humor. She and her twin were adopted at a young age by a Pentecostal family. She immerses herself completely, goes to Bible college, and gets married, just like you’re supposed to, but the payoff for doing everything right never came.
Joy is, by nature, a positive, joyful person determined to make the best of all situations. Her belief in Christianity (the way it was taught to her-the Pentecostal version) shaped her view of the world, her marriage, and her own role within it all. Throughout every intolerable moment of misery she reminds herself to shove it down and suck it up for Jesus. Until she can’t.
Joy Unspeakable is a frank look at how the misogynism, unrealistic expectations, and delayed gratification of fundamentalism warps lives. Hopper tells her story without bitterness; her conversational style brings the reader along like a best friend on a road trip.
