Explore Topical Resources
The resources shared are intended as starting points. We’ve gathered documentaries, podcasts, and books that may be helpful for those navigating religious harm, spiritual abuse, or institutional trauma.
While we aim to share reputable and supportive options, inclusion does not imply endorsement of every viewpoint expressed. Additionally, not every resource will resonate with or apply to every person’s experience.
We encourage you to take what feels supportive and aligned, and leave the rest behind. Your story, needs, and healing process are uniquely your own.
If something feels unsafe or misaligned, you are always allowed to step away.
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Books
Truth & Repair by Judith Herman
It Didn’t Start With You by Mark Wolynn
The Gift of Imperfection by Brené Brown
The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents by Lindsay Gibson
Holy Hurt by Hillary McBride
The Wisdom of Your Body by Hillary McBride
Sacred Wounds: A Path to Healing from Spiritual Trauma by Teresa B. Pasquale
A Thousand Tiny Paper Cuts by Katherine Spearing
When Religion Hurts You by Dr. Laura Anderson
What My Bones Know by Stephanie Foo
The Myth of Good Christian Parenting: How False Promises Betrayed a Generation of Evangelical Families by Marissa Franks Burt & Kelsey Kramer McGinnis
There I Am: The Journey from Hopelessness to Healing - A Memoir by Ruthie Lindsey
No Bad Parts by Dr. Richard C. Schwartz
Self-Compassion by Kristin Neff, Ph. D.
Every Memory Deserves Respect: EMDR, the Proven Trauma Therapy with the Power to Heal by Michael Baldwin and Deborah Korn
Attachment- Based Yoga & Meditation for Trauma Recovery by Deidre Faye & Christopher Germer
Overcoming Trauma through Yoga by David Emerson & Elizabeth Hopper
Becoming Safely Embodied: A Guide to Organize Your Mind, Body, and Heart to Feel Secure in the World by Deidre Faye
The CBT Workbook for Perfectionism: Evidence-Based Skills to Help You Let Go of Self-Criticism, Build Self-Esteem, and Find Balance by Sharon Martin, DSW, LCSW
Podcasts
Thriving After Spiritual Abuse
Articles
My Body Knew Before I Did: Somatic Healing After Religious Trauma
A Journey of Somatic Reclamation
Did Religious Trauma Impact Your Childhood?
Websites
Pretti Graffiti Foundation (peer support groups for survivors of non-war-related torture)
Other
A Place for Ex-Evangelicals (Reddit)
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Books
Hell Bent by Brian Recker
Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived by Rob Bell
Podcasts
The Liturgists (various episodes)
Honoring the Journey: Rapture Trauma & Deconstruction
Religion on the Mind: End Times Anxiety
Losing My Evangelical Religion [Revisited] with Rachel Held Evans
Articles
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Books
Come as You Are by Emily Nagoski
The Body is Not an Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor
The Purity Myth by Jessica Valenti
Shameless by Nadia Bolz-Weber
Talking Back to Purity Culture by Rachel Joy
You are Your Own by Jamie Lee Finch
Sex, God, and the Conservative Church - Erasing Shame from Sexual Intimacy by Tina Sellers
The Purity Myth by Jessica Valenti
Pure by Linda Kay Klein
Wayward: A Memoir of Spiritual Warfare and Sexual Purity by Alice Greczyn
#ChurchToo: How Purity Culture Upholds Abuse and How to Find Healing by Emily Joy Allison
Podcasts
How Purity Culture Impacts Men with Julia & Jeremiah from the Sexvangelicals
Send this Episode to Your Therapist
Send this Episode to Your Therapist, Part 2
Websites
Exploring Purity Culture as Religious Trauma
Articles
From Promise Ring to Stethoscope: Confronting Purity Culture as Patient or Healthcare Provider
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Books
Does Jesus Really Love Me? A Gay Christian's Pilgrimage in Search of God in America by Jeff Chu
After Purity: Race, Sex, and Religion in White Christian America by Sara Moslener
Come As You Are by Emily Nagoski
God and the Gay Christian by Matthew Vines
My Body is Not a Prayer Request: Disability Justice in the Church by Amy Kinny
Outlove: A Queer Christian Survival Story by Julie Rodgers
We Have Always Been Here: A Queer Muslim Memoir by Samra Habib
Boy Erased: A Memoir by Garrard Conley
Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
Real Queer America: LGBT Stories from Red States by Samantha Allen
(Un)Certain: A Collective Memoir of Deconstructing Faith by Olivia Jackson
Documentaries
Pray Away (Netflix)
Podcasts
Deconstruction Myths and Accusations
Websites
Articles
Social Media
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Books
Untamed by Glennon Doyle
Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation by Kristin Kobes Du Mez
The Dance of the Dissident Daughter: A Woman's Journey from Christian Tradition to the Sacred Feminine by Sue Monk Kidd
The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth by Beth Allison Barr
Discovering the Inner Mother: A Guide to Healing the Mother Wound and Claiming Your Personal Power by Bethany Webster
Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto by Tricia Hersey
Star-Spangled Jesus: Leaving Christian Nationalism and Finding A True Faith by April Ajoy
A Well-Trained Wife: My Escape from Christian Patriarchy by Tia Levings
Kingdom Come by Michelle Goldberg
Shadow Network: Media, Money, and the Secret Hub of the Radical Right by Anne Nelson
The Violent Take it by Force by Matthew Taylor
Reality in Ruins: How Conspiracy Theory Became an American Evangelical Crisis by Jared Stacy
Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily Nagoski, PhD
Podcasts
Workshops
Deconstructing Patriarchy & Masculinity After High-Control Religion: A Workshop for Men
Articles
Why I Went Back To Church (Even Though I Don’t Know If I Believe In “God”… Yet)
Documentaries
God Forbid (Hulu)
For Our Daughters (YouTube)
Social Media
D.L. Mayfield
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Books
The Cross and the Lynching Tree by James H. Cone
Womanist Midrash: A Reintroduction to the Women of the Torah and the Throne by Wilda C. Gafney
I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michael Alexander
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
My Grandmother’s Hands by Resmaa Menakem
Jesus Land: A Memoir by Julia Scheeres
Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X Kendi
Behold, America: A History of America First and the American Dream by Sarah Churchwell
The Justice of Jesus by Joash Thomas
American Rule: How a Nation Conquered the World but Failed Its People by Jared Sexton Yates
Dear White America: Letter to a New Minority by Tim Wise
Red Paint: The Ancestral Autobiography of a Coast Salish Punk by Sasha LaPointe
Podcasts
Unequally Saved: The Church’s Role in Racism with Lisa Sharon Harper
Reimagining the Divine After Omnipotence
Downloads
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Books
Combating Cult Mind Control by Steven Hassan
The Cult of Trump by Steven Hassad
Take Back Your Life: Recovering from Cults and Abusive Relationships by Janja Lalich
Uncultured (A Memoir) by Daniella Mestyanek Young
The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and Peoples Temple by Jeff Guinn
Breaking Free: How I Escaped Polygamy, the FLDS Cult, and my Father, Warren Jeffs by Rachel Jeffs
Documentaries
Cults & Extreme Beliefs (A&E)
The Path (Hulu)
Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator (Netflix)
The Vow: NXIVM (HBO)
Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence (Hulu)
Holy Hell (Netflix)
Podcasts
Cults, Culture & Coercion with Dr. Steve Hassan
Articles
Gaslighting - Psychology Today
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Unsilenced (Troubled Teen Industry - TTI)
The Aftermath Foundation (Scientology)
Helping Survivors (Sexual abuse, harassment, assault)
Flipping the Pyramids (MLMs)
Snap Network (Sexual abuse)
Rise & Reclaim (Religious abuse)
Plan C (Medication abortion is legally available to be mailed to pregnant people in all 50 states and Washington DC)
Repro Legal Helpline (Speak to a lawyer for any legal questions about abortion, pregnancy, birth, and parenting)
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Websites
Plan C (Medication abortion is legally available to be mailed to pregnant people in all 50 states and Washington DC)
Repro Legal Helpline (Speak to a lawyer for any legal questions about abortion, pregnancy, birth, and parenting)
Articles
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