When Religion Hurts You

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Original review can be found here.

I finished reading a library copy of When Religion Hurts You by Dr. Laura Anderson on a Sunday morning and by Sunday afternoon, I had already picked up a physical copy from a local bookstore for my personal library. It is one of the best books I have read this year. I highly recommend it for anyone who has spent time in a high control or spiritually abusive religious environment.

This book was so validating and encouraging. I could relate to a lot of what the author described when she was discussing her own experiences and those of her clients, and I have already talked to my therapist about some of the things I want to explore more as a result of this book. As I read it, I would often turn to my husband and read portions to him, amazed at how some of the things she presented were written word-for-word the way I have described my own experiences in recent months and years.

Dr. Laura presents an abundance of helpful information throughout the book, as well as strategies the reader can implement to aid their own healing process and find safety within their own body again. Some of the things she covers in the book include:

- what spiritual abuse and religious trauma can look like,

- how they can manifest in the body and impact people long after they have left the harmful environment,

- how the nervous system works,

- how purity culture and hierarchical systems play into abusive environments,

- how patriarchy is so frequently ???the foundation of oppression,??? and

- rebuilding identity after leaving such environments and / or deconstructing.

She also made some really interesting connections between nervous system dysregulation and fundamentalism, which I found both fascinating and enlightening.

Overall, I found it to be a very healing read and have already recommended it to several people. You can read a story about an interesting experience I navigated whilst purchasing this book here if you are so inclined.