The author reflects on her life as an evangelical Christian, revealing how her adherence to faith imposed a rigid lifestyle that felt confining rather than liberating. Her sister, Dorothy Porter, chose a contrasting path, embracing a vibrant, artistic life. Despite their divergent choices, both felt like outsiders in their family, supporting each other through shared challenges, particularly regarding their father's temperament. Dorothy's literary works eventually challenged the author's beliefs, encouraging her to question the absoluteness of her faith, leading towards an exploration of self and identity beyond dogma.
I spent most of my adult life as an evangelical Christian, learning to accept a whole-body compliance to a regimented way of living and submission to the Bible as God-breathed and infallible.
While Dod ran towards delicious worldliness, I took the other fork in the road, towards asceticism and self-sacrifice. I believed I knew all the answers.
She became my reliable drinking companion in the Chester Porter Survival Club, as we navigated our father's volatile temper and terrifying rages.
Dod then wrote books that challenged my entire worldview, startling me out of my stupor and dogged adherence to what had been fed to me as the Only Truth.
Collection
[
|
...
]