Conference panel: "Reform v. Abolition: Confronting Mixed Feelings"
Details to come!
Join authors Cait West and Sarah Stankorb for a discussion about the impact of Christian patriarchy, a school of thought that teaches women's submission to their father, then husband, and is practiced in some high-control churches. By sharing their personal stories, as well as stories of other women in the church, Cait and Sarah voice the possibility of exposing wrongdoing, changing the narrative, breaking free from unrealistic expectations, and building a better future.
This event is free to attend, however, it helps us in planning to receive your RSVP. Please register here so we know you plan to join us: RSVP.
The authors’ books will be available for purchase and signing at the event.
About Sarah Stankorb:
SARAH STANKORB has written hundreds of reported articles and essays, which have appeared in publications, including: The Washington Post, The New York Times, Vogue, Marie Claire, Glamour, and VICE. She was born in Youngstown, Ohio, and as a kid, often found escape in books. She studied religion and philosophy at Westminster College, and ethics and South Asian religion and history at the University of Chicago’s Divinity School. Her beat spans religion, politics, gender, and power, but is informed by questions of basic morality. This means investigating wrongdoing; it can mean reporting on how people find the strength to prevail. Sarah lives in Ohio with her husband and two children.
This multi-author event offers a trauma-informed space of deep listening as together we explore ways of processing religious/spiritual trauma, abuse, and pain through writing. Through personal memoirs, fiction, and academic research, each of these (im)Pure Michigan authors has found their works to be avenues of processing and naming wrongs. Join us as together we lean into journeys of breaking free from pain and finding healing together.
Each session will consist of the authors sharing sections of their respective books followed by moderated Q&A and an opportunity to take home their works. GVSU students will receive a discounted rate for book purchases.
Session 1: Breaking Up with Purity Culture will take place in the afternoon on the Allendale Campus and Session 2: Processing Religious Trauma Through Art will take place in downtown Grand Rapids on the GVSU Health Campus. Register here for one or both sessions..
The event will feature:
Cait West - Michigan State graduate in creative writing and publishing, and author of Rift: A Memoir of Breaking Away from Christian Patriarchy (2024).
Dr. Sara Moslener - writer, researcher, and lecturer in Central Michigan University's Department of Philosophy, Anthropology, and Religion, and author of Virgin Nation: Sexual Purity and American Adolescence (2015) and the forthcoming After Purity: Race, Sex, and Religion in White Christian America.
Dawn Burns - assistant professor in Michigan State University’s Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and Cultures, and author of fiction and creative nonfiction, including Evangelina Everyday (2022).
These conversations are brought to you by the Kaufman Interfaith Institute, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., and GVSU's 2025 Sex Ed Week committee.
This multi-author event offers a trauma-informed space of deep listening as together we explore ways of processing religious/spiritual trauma, abuse, and pain through writing. Through personal memoirs, fiction, and academic research, each of these (im)Pure Michigan authors has found their works to be avenues of processing and naming wrongs. Join us as together we lean into journeys of breaking free from pain and finding healing together.
Each session will consist of the authors sharing sections of their respective books followed by moderated Q&A and an opportunity to take home their works. GVSU students will receive a discounted rate for book purchases.
Session 1: Breaking Up with Purity Culture will take place in the afternoon on the Allendale Campus and Session 2: Processing Religious Trauma Through Art will take place in downtown Grand Rapids on the GVSU Health Campus. Register here for one or both sessions..
The event will feature:
Cait West - Michigan State graduate in creative writing and publishing, and author of Rift: A Memoir of Breaking Away from Christian Patriarchy (2024).
Dr. Sara Moslener - writer, researcher, and lecturer in Central Michigan University's Department of Philosophy, Anthropology, and Religion, and author of Virgin Nation: Sexual Purity and American Adolescence (2015) and the forthcoming After Purity: Race, Sex, and Religion in White Christian America.
Dawn Burns - assistant professor in Michigan State University’s Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and Cultures, and author of fiction and creative nonfiction, including Evangelina Everyday (2022).--
These conversations are brought to you by the Kaufman Interfaith Institute, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., and GVSU's 2025 Sex Ed Week committee.
Author Cait West joins Abbi Nye from CFCtoo for a frank conversation between two homeschooled daughters.
Cait and Abbi explore the intersections between Christian patriarchy, homeschooling, and religious trauma through Cait’s memoir, Rift.
This is a virtual event and will begin at 4:00 pm EST.
Join us for an insightful evening with Blake Chastain, author of Exvangelical & Beyond: How American Christianity Went Radical and the Movement That’s Fighting Back. Chastain—pioneer of the #Exvangelical movement and host of the Exvangelical podcast—delves into the intersection of evangelicalism, politics, and culture in the United States, exploring why so many people are leaving the church and speaking out.
About the Book:
In Exvangelical & Beyond, Chastain blends history, personal narrative, and incisive analysis to reveal evangelicalism's roots in conservative politics, its media influence, and the growing exvangelical community that’s fostering healing and new conversations. From Trumpism to purity culture to the rise of online movements, this book unpacks the radical transformation within American Christianity—and the movement fighting back.
Whether you’re deconstructing your faith, curious about changes in religious culture, or want to understand the landscape of modern spirituality better, this event is for you.
About the Author:
Blake Chastain is the creator of #Exvangelical, host of the Exvangelical podcast, and writer of The Post-Evangelical Post. His work has been featured in The New York Times, VICE, and The New Republic.
🎟️ This event is free, but space is limited. Reserve your ticket now at fablesbooks.com/events. Books will be available for purchase before and during the event.
📖 Come ready to learn, reflect, and connect—because stories like these remind us of the power of community, conversation, and change.
Hosted by Syracuse-Turkey Creek Township Public Library
A discussion will occur at 1 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 21, in the library’s downstairs meeting room. During the discussion, members will virtually meet the author and be able to ask questions.
Copies are available at the library. Digital e-book copies are available on Hoopla and Libby.
For information, email Emilia at elayne@syracuse.lib.in.us.
Cait West and Kim Oclon read and have a discussion with the moderators in this month’s installment of the Dunes Literary Series. The reading will take place over Zoom, so please register below for your free ticket.
Hosted by the Department of English at Indiana University Northwest
7:30 pm Eastern time
Bonnie Jo Campbell with Cait West, celebrating the release of the paperback edition of THE WATERS
This powerful new documentary from Kristin Kobes Du Mez, the creator/author of Jesus and John Wayne, highlights how a culture of submission and sexual abuse in the evangelical church ties directly to Christian nationalist political aims that negatively impact women.
in Seminary DeVos Auditorium as part of Unlearn Week
Join us for a film screening and critical conversation about abuse in the church and the lack of accountability which perpetuates harm. Learn more about a call to action to create change and a movement to believe victims and support survivors.
Sponsored by Safe Haven Ministries
Knickerbocker Theatre in Downtown Holland
General Seating. Movie starts at 7:00pm. Doors open at 6:30pm.
Adults $9
Seniors $7
Hope Students, Faculty and Staff are Free. Please show your ID at the door.
About the film: From Kristin Kobes Du Mez, the creator/author of Jesus and John Wayne, comes a powerful new documentary highlighting how a culture of submission and sexual abuse in the evangelical church ties directly to the Christian nationalist quest to use the outcome of the 2024 election to deprive all American women of basic democratic rights. FOR OUR DAUGHTERS speaks to all women of faith, encouraging them to use their voices and their votes to ensure that their daughters will have the rights to health and happiness guaranteed to all Americans.
Hosted by Cait West
Saturday, September 28, 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Video link will be provided via email
About the film: From Kristin Kobes Du Mez, the creator/author of Jesus and John Wayne, comes a powerful new documentary highlighting how a culture of submission and sexual abuse in the evangelical church ties directly to the Christian nationalist quest to use the outcome of the 2024 election to deprive all American women of basic democratic rights. FOR OUR DAUGHTERS speaks to all women of faith, encouraging them to use their voices and their votes to ensure that their daughters will have the rights to health and happiness guaranteed to all Americans.
Authors promote their books. Readers meet local authors & get signed books. Everyone mingle with discount literary-themed cocktails, mocktails, & wine flights.
Join Dawn Burns, Sara Moslener, Sarah Carson, and Cait West for a reading and conversation about evangelical purity culture. Books will be available for sale and signing.
Join Queer and Exvangelical creatives from the Lightbug Collective for an immersive free workshop in art and writing designed to illuminate your soul, spark renewal, and set your world ablaze, followed by a reading and conversation that stems from their experiences with Evangelical purity culture, religious trauma, and the complexities of being human in the world. Hear how these writers and artists have moved "From Ashes to Art" in their own transformations as they share their stories with others.
Workshop at Ivy Tech Community College, noon to 2 p.m.
Reading & Conversation at Warsaw Community Public Library. 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
RSVP for workshop to dawnburns42@gmail.com
Sponsored by The Word House, Ivy Tech Community College, and The Lightbug Collective
Hosts: Zee the Goblin, Sara Moslener, Dawn Burns, and Cait West
Join Cait West and Lori Erickson for a discussion about Cait's debut book, RIFT: A Memoir of Breaking Away from Christian Patriarchy. Books will be available for purchase and signing.
Join two local authors whose work unapologetically centers and empowers the voice of women in the 21st century for a discussion of a new book heraldered by Publishers Weekly as “A powerful meditation on what it means to be trapped and what it takes to break free.”
Register here (option for a free ticket or ticket with a signed copy of Rift)
Join us for an evening with three incredible authors, Cait West, Katherine Spearing and Shelly Snow Pordea to celebrate their newest books!
Doors open at 6:30pm.
There will be a signing line after the event. Individuals are welcome to bring books from home! Books will also be for sale:
Rift: A Memoir of Breaking Away from Christian Patriarchy by Cait West
Hartfords by Katherine Spearing
The Cheating Wife by Shelly Snow Pordea
Find free tickets at the link below:
Join Michigan authors Cait West, Dawn Burns, and Sara Moslener for a literary evening in discussion about their books, which will be available for purchase:
Rift: A Memoir of Breaking Away from Christian Patriarchy by Cait West
Evangelina Everyday by Dawn Burns
Virgin Nation: Sexual Purity and American Adolescence by Sara Moslener
Free to attend but RSVPs are encouraged.
Breaking Away from Purity Culture: Author Talk & Book Signing with Cait West, Sara Moslener, and Dawn Burns
Join authors Cait West (author of Rift: A Memoir of Breaking Away from Christian Patriarchy), Sara Moslener (author of Virgin Nation), and Dawn Burns (author of Evangelina Everyday) for a night of healing and inspiration. They will discuss religious trauma, purity culture, and how we can move forward toward a better future.
The Evangelical Purity Movement, which began in the early 1990s, established a sexual ethic based on strict gender roles, racial purity, and control over women's bodies. It promoted abstinence-only and used a narrow interpretation of the Bible to justify shame and control over women's bodies, resulting in trauma that is still felt today, decades later. Midwest authors Cait West, Sara Moslener, and Dawn Burns have come together to shed light on the harms of the Evangelical Purity Movement and the Christian Patriarchy and to offer stories of healing and inspiration.
This event is FREE and open to everyone. At the end of the authors' talk, audience members can participate in a Q&A session. All three authors will also be available to sign copies of their books. Books are available in-store or online before and after the event.
10% of all Sales on Sunday, July 14th, will go to Goshen Pride.
Join Cait West and Liz Charlotte Grant for a discussion about Cait's debut book, RIFT: A Memoir of Breaking Away from Christian Patriarchy.
Ticket purchase required to attend and includes a signed copy of RIFT.
On the first Friday of each month, Books & Mortar stays open late to celebrate local authors!
Abstract: Culture wars and backlash against the feminist movement in the 1990s led to the rise of an ideology called Christian patriarchy in the United States. Organizations such as Vision Forum and grassroots magazines and newsletters such as Patriarch spread this ideology, gaining followers across evangelical denominations, many of whom continue to follow this lifestyle today. This movement established men as the leaders of the church, and fathers as cult leaders of their families. Those raised as female in this movement were kept isolated and homeschooled and were often forbidden higher education, dating, and working outside the home, hence their name “stay-at-home daughters.” Instead, they were trained to propagate the ideology by becoming homemakers, told to marry and bear as many children as possible. This panel will explore the specific challenges that stay-at-home daughters face when leaving their community, from delayed developmental learning (adolescence) to learning independence in their twenties and thirties. While previous literature has focused on women in patriarchal marriages, unmarried daughters have not been studied extensively in this movement. These survivors usually require extensive support to find happiness and wholeness after growing up in a high-control environment. This includes learning to be independent, access to education, and mental health services.
Find more information about this conference on the ICSA website.
Noon PST/ 3 pm EST
Secular AZ is a nonpartisan, nonprofit advocacy organization that protects the constitutional separation of church and state and educates lawmakers and the public to ensure freedom of conscience for Arizonans of all faiths and of none.
For more information, visit the Secular AZ website.
Register here.
Come hang out with Cait West and friends at Nomadic Outpost Beer Garden! Homeschool alumni, Vision Forum survivors, and readers of all kinds are welcome. We'll hang out, have good food and drinks, and maybe share some stories. We'd love for you to join us!
Join Cait West and Bekah McNeel for a discussion about Cait's debut book, RIFT: A Memoir of Breaking Away from Christian Patriarchy. Books will be available for purchase and signing. Parking is free in the Koehler Garage for two hours.
Join Cait West and Jennifer Mathieu (author of MOXIE) for a discussion about Cait's debut book, RIFT: A Memoir of Breaking Away from Christian Patriarchy.
Books to be signed must be purchased directly from Brazos Bookstore.
Hell's 7th annual summer festival. A family-friendly, but Hellishly fun festival to celebrate the heat of Hell in the summer. Take a stroll on Hell's grounds and enjoy kookie, spooky, creepy, Halloweenish and Hellish wares, art, and damn good food. Plus Buddy Keys returns to entertain the masses! Free admission and free parking.
Cait West, Dawn Burns, and Sara Moslener will be selling and signing copies of their books, as well as hosting a featured reading time for local authors.
You're invited to join Cait West and Anna Gazmarian, authors of widely praised debut memoirs, as they discuss grappling with religious trauma in public and the writing life with Lauren F. Winner.
In collaboration with the Regulator Bookshop and St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church.
Free to attend. RSVP here! RSVPs include a complimentary one-year subscription to Image Journal.
Stop by Flyleaf Books for a meet & greet with the author of RIFT: A Memoir of Breaking Away from Christian Patriarchy! Copies of RIFT will be available for purchase.
Join Michigan authors Cait West, Dawn Burns, and Sara Moslener for a literary evening in discussion about their books:
- Rift: A Memoir of Breaking Away from Christian Patriarchy by Cait West
- Evangelina Everyday by Dawn Burns
- Virgin Nation: Sexual Purity and American Adolescence by Sara Moslener
Books for sale and signing (along with cookies!) will be available at Sleepy Dog Books after the discussion.
