The Aftermath of Friendship Lost

After the initial shock of being kicked out of Debbie’s life, I spent a few weeks feeling deeply wounded. After a while, the hurt turned to a bitter anger. How dare she take away her friendship, and by default, my connection with her entire family! She had three young nieces who I’d known since they […]

Losing My Religion – Part 5, The Bitter End

In early spring of 2005, Debbie and I got together for an evening walk. We hadn’t been spending much time around each other at that point, but I was busy planning my next steps in life, and I figured she was busy too.

We walked and caught up on recent news as usual, and then, just as we were at the farthest point from the house, she turned to me and said, “We need to talk.”

Losing My Religion – Part 4

Have you ever cast a ballot to determine someone’s standing in the church? I participated in the disfellowshipping of one of my best friends, and yet I STILL couldn’t bring myself to walk away from it all.

Losing my Religion – Part 3

It was like I had two personas – the holy churchgoer, and the day-to-day me. I don’t know how Dave put up with me for so long.

Losing My Religion – Part 2

Continued from Part 1… In early 2000, Debbie and I dropped out of college and got an apartment together in CT. My parents were less than thrilled that I was giving up on college after just 3 semesters, but I was antsy and eager to get out and get a real job and get on […]

Losing My Religion – Part 1

Finally – The first post a series about my process of leaving the Christadelphians. I’ve referred to it for years, and have always had it simmering on the back burner. Every time I’d edit it, I’d end up adding more, or taking something away. It’s become quite massive, so it will be broken down into […]

15 Years Ago…

In September 2001, my friend Sarah and I took a trip to Oregon to visit her family, who had just relocated there. It was my first time traveling further west than the Mississippi River, and my first time on a plane since I was 16. Dave and I had only recently started dating, and I […]

The F Word

I’m talking about fear, of course. In going through a stack of paper shoved on a shelf, I found what’s written below. I wrote it a little over 4 years ago, when I was underemployed, drowning in student loans and generally feeling like a loser. You don’t always realize how far you’ve come until you […]