God's Ex-Girlfriend

With engaging and conversational prose, Amodeo offers us acompelling look at the world of youth missions that is taking aim, not just atthe hearts and minds of young people in America and abroad, but at liberalism,equality, and democracy itself.Katherine StewartHow does a charming, insecure girl from a troubled familybecome an evangelist for a Christian fundamentalist movement that seeks togovern her every thought and action?God'sEx-Girlfriendisa wry, poignant, and unflinchingly honest memoir that unveils the cult-likeoperations of Campus Crusade for Christ. Now known as 'Cru,' the 'parachurch'has been a formidable component of the Religious Right's politicalinfrastructure. Amodeo's account shows how she was drawn into the movement, andhow she finally broke free of its control into a fulfilling new life.Anne Nelson,author,Shadow Network:Media, Money, and the Secret Hub of the Radical RightIn her frank, relatable, and sometimes laugh-out-loudfunny prose, Gloria Beth Amodeo exposes the subtle manipulation techniques,love bombing, and exploitation of trauma evangelicals use on those they targetfor conversion. While she doesn't shy away from the predatory nature ofconversion efforts, Amodeo also shows us the seductive side of gainingspiritual family and certainty about ultimate questions in a worldthat is often chaotic and frightening. More importantly, she takes us on ajourney of identities gained and lost that ends with the triumph of her humanspirit in her deconversion, convincingly demonstrating that the cost of thecomforts and certainty that high-control religion offers your soul, youragency, your individualityis far too high. Chrissy Stroop,editor,Leaving thePews: Stories of People Leaving the ChurchGloriaBeth Amodeo was a freshman in college when she met someone who would change thetrajectory of her life. Cate was smart, beautiful, and an evangelicalChristian. Soon, Gloria had left behind her troubled familywhich included hermother's mental illness and addiction to pillsand joined Cate as a member ofCampus Crusade for Christ (now known as Cru).Embracing her newfound belief system, Gloria became a cultural warrior for Jesus, militantly focused on converting everyone she metto her conservative brand of Christianity. Over the next seven years, she spentspring breaks preaching to MTV partygoers in bikinis; hung out in bars as shetried to convert her fellow creative writing students in New York City; andkept a strenuous hold on her virginity, as she considered herself to be in arelationship withGod.Slowly, she came to realize that aGodwhobelieved that people were going to hell, sex before marriage was a sin, andthat men had the final say in all marital and relationship matters, among otherthings, was not aGodshe wanted to date any longer.