From the Publisher

When you’re raised in a “what happened didn’t happen” sort of family and culture, things aren’t necessarily what they seem and the patterns aren’t always apparent. Even the bare bones of figuring out what’s true and what’s not is fraught with difficulty. All I can do is tell you my own story and tell it from the vantage I hold at this moment. I died four times. Four times when the elemental structure of my being was flung into the dark void. This book is my attempt to make sense of those deaths. Rather than fleeing from that darkness, I have chosen to walk into it, following the threads of my memory through the labyrinth of my life—and my deaths—connecting the points of light as best I can. The labyrinth was long and arduous, but as each death rebirthed me into a new self, it ultimately led to a center of peace.

—Christa Brown

Baptistland is a story of . . . brokenness, and betrayal, but more than any of these things, it is the story of resilience.—Kristin Kobes Du Mez,author ofJesus and John Wayne

Baptistland is a searing yet inspirational memoir and sorely needed guide to all who try to expose any corrupt institution. Christa’s recovery from childhood horror, her tireless work to expose church complicity, and her savvy and relentless efforts to prevent more . . . cover-ups are beyond admirable.—David Clohessy, activist and former executive director for the Survivor’s Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP)

Christa Brown is renowned as a fierce and resilient advocate, someone who has demanded truth and justice from one of the most influential church bodies in the United States. In Baptistland, we see Brown’s origins: coping with a family legacy of fear and dysfunction . . . and the painful, vital work of learning how to demand a better life for oneself and those who will follow. There is vulnerability and courage in these pages.” —Sarah Stankorb,author of Disobedient Women

Baptistland is the story of that journey and what happens in many religious communities when a woman steps forward and uses her voice, her agency, and her life to speak out to bring light to dark places. —Boz Tchividjian, BozLaw