Bad Mormon

Bad Mormon

By Heather Gay

First Gallery Books, 2023. 287 pages. Biography

Born and bred to be devout, Heather Gay based her life around her faith. She attended Brigham Young University, served a mission in France, and married into Mormon royalty in the temple. But her life as a good Mormon abruptly ended when she lost the marriage and faith that she had once believed would last forever. With writing that is beautiful, sad, funny, and true, Heather recounts the difficult discovery of the darkness and damage that often exists behind a picture-perfect life, while examining the nuanced relationship between duty to self and duty to God. Exposing secrets she once held sacred, Bad Mormon is an unfiltered look at the religion that broke her heart. 

This is an open and honest take on one woman's struggle to live her life authentically. I liked how Heather's cheeky tone (something I enjoyed about her on the RHOSLC show) comes through. This book is an excellent choice for anyone who is looking for a memoir about coming to terms with who you are as a person, even if that means leaving behind what you once held dear. 

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Behind the curtain of her happy on-screen persona, Valerie Bertinelli's life has been no easy ride, especially when it comes to her own self-worth. Valerie shares personal stories: hitting her fifties, taking care of her dying mother, the evolving relationship with her husband, a career change, her relationship with food, and the battle to believe in herself as she is. 

Heretic

By Jeanna Kadlec

Harper, 2022. 259 pages. Biography

Jeanna Kadlec knew what it meant to be faithful--in her marriage to a pastor's son, in the comfortable life ahead of her, in her God--but there was no denying the truth that lived under that conviction: she was queer and, if she wanted to survive, she would need to leave behind the church and every foundational building block she knew. Heretic is a memoir of rebirth. 

Leaving the Saints

By Martha Nibley Beck

Crown Publishers, 2005. 306 pages. Biography

As "Mormon royalty," Beck was raised in a home frequented by her church's high elders, and her existence was framed by their strict code of conduct. In this thoughtful examination of faith, Beck chronicles her difficult decision to leave the Mormon church, and her struggle to overcome a dark secret buried in her childhood. 

Untamed

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The Dial Press, 2020. 333 pages. Biography

In her most revealing and powerful memoir yet, Glennon Doyle explores the joy and peace when women stop striving to meet others' expectations and start trusting the voice deep within them. 

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