Devangelical. A Memoir. Why I Left to Save my Soul

203 Pages·2012·2.038 MB·English

by  Erika Rae

praise for
Devangelical
“Erika Rae has penned a delightful and compelling meditation
on personal reinvention that will both tickle you and make you
blush.”
— Jonathan Evison, author of The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving,
West of Here, and All About Lulu
“I’m a believer that Erika Rae will make you cackle with heathen
delight throughout Devangelical. Aside from that, my Mom is
going to be so happy I read a book with the word ‘Jesus’ in it!”
— Laurie Notaro, author of The Idiot Girl’s Action-Adventure Club,
I Love Everybody (And Other Atrocious Lies), and There’s a Slight Chance I
Might Be Going to Hell
“Whether you think Erika Rae is a prophet of truth or a whore
of Babylon, you have to admit she’s a sinfully sublime writer.
Her memoir is a triumph: honest, profound, sexy, and funny
as all hell. Devangelical is a wicked good book—and I do mean
wicked.”
— Greg Olear, author of Fathermucker and Totally Killer
“I swear to God, I couldn’t stop reading Erika Rae’s Devangelical! It
is a charming, original, hilarious and insightful trip into the mind
and soul of a young Evangelical girl.”
— Jessica Anya Blau, author of Drinking Closer to Home and The Summer
of Naked Swim Parties
“A book to make you sad for the entire human race, and yet hopeful
for all its individuals.”
— Ben Loory, author of Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day
“Devangelical is a must read to understand the culture of fundamentalist
Christians. Erika Rae shows what goes on inside the minds of
teenagers growing up in the faith.”
— Tony DuShane, author of Confessions of a Teenage Jesus Jerk
“Erika Rae would have gotten me in trouble as a teen. Devangelical is
the ultimate hysterical note passed down the church pew, eliciting
uncontrolled, out-loud laughs in the face of propriety. I fully
expected to feel my mother’s pinch telling me to shut up and stop
giggling.”
— Slade Ham, comedian, The Whiskey Brothers comedy group
“This book reads like an exorcism. And I mean that in the best
possible way.”
— Brad Listi, author of Attention. Deficit. Disorder., founder of The
Nervous Breakdown, and host of Other People

why i lEFT To save mY soul
Emergency Press
New York
Copyright © 2012 by Erika Rae
All rights reserved
First Edition
For information about permissions to reproduce selections from this book, or to order
bulk purchases, write to Emergency Press at [email protected].
Book design by Kelly Hobkirk
Cover image by Anthony Camera
Rae, Erika
ISBN 978-0-9885694-0-9
1. Nonfiction—Biography & Autobiography. 2. Nonfiction—Personal Memoirs.
3. Nonfiction—Philosophy & Spirituality.
Emergency Press
154 W. 27th St.
#5W
New York NY 10001
emergencypress.org
Distributed by Publishers Group West

For Scott, my partner through it all