Unfollow
A Memoir of Loving and Leaving the Westboro Baptist Church
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Narrated by:
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Megan Phelps-Roper
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Written by:
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Megan Phelps-Roper
About this listen
The activist and TED speaker Megan Phelps-Roper reveals her life growing up in the most hated family in America
At the age of five, Megan Phelps-Roper began protesting homosexuality and other alleged vices alongside fellow members of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas. Founded by her grandfather and consisting almost entirely of her extended family, the tiny group would gain worldwide notoriety for its pickets at military funerals and celebrations of death and tragedy. As Phelps-Roper grew up, she saw that church members were close companions and accomplished debaters, applying the logic of predestination and the language of the King James Bible to everyday life with aplomb - which, as the church’s Twitter spokeswoman, she learned to do with great skill. Soon, however, dialogue on Twitter caused her to begin doubting the church’s leaders and message: If humans were sinful and fallible, how could the church itself be so confident about its beliefs? As she digitally jousted with critics, she started to wonder if sometimes they had a point - and then she began exchanging messages with a man who would help change her life.
A gripping memoir of escaping extremism and falling in love, Unfollow relates Phelps-Roper’s moral awakening, her departure from the church, and how she exchanged the absolutes she grew up with for new forms of warmth and community. Rich with suspense and thoughtful reflection, Phelps-Roper’s life story exposes the dangers of black-and-white thinking and the need for true humility in a time of angry polarization.
©2019 Megan Phelps-Roper (P)2019 Audible, Inc.You may also enjoy...
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What listeners say about Unfollow
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Donna L. Clark
- 2020-10-25
Timely
A story for our times which allows the reader to understand how someone can be part of the “most hated family” in America and act in what seems incredibly cruel ways and yet, also be genuinely kind and loving
The author clearly expresses the huge dangers of black and white thinking - the craziness and cruelty of blanket certitude.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- M.
- 2019-11-14
utterly fascinating
I'm never one to like authors reading their own work but MPR breaks the mold here. Her cadence combined with her prose was captivating and moving. Easily one of my favorite books of the year.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Cake
- 2020-08-01
Incredible
This book allowed me to understand so many different perspectives, especially ones I have struggled to understand in the past. It is written so beautiful and preformed well! Highly recommend
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Nick Overduin
- 2021-12-23
A profoundly inside story of love and struggle
Most people never realize how hard it can be to leave a loving religious community and it's family bonds. When that community is a famous congregation known for public hatreds, it is even harder for most people to guess at the network of intimate connection that keeps us tied to the people we cherish despite the societal damages that are being caused. This is one of the more beautiful books I have ever been exposed to. The author is winsome and relatable, and she makes the depths of her struggle, both intellectual and deeply personal, visible to those who care enough to understand. It is one of those life-changing books... Suddenly you realize that even when the apple never falls far from the tree, sometimes it is very important for the apple to roll and roll and roll, until it is quite far away indeed.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- S.L
- 2022-05-28
Really Enjoyed The Book
Growing up, I always saw the children picketing, and I always wondered about what life was like for these children - were they abused? were they given free will? why did they think the language and words they used were out of love when they were so hateful? Megan's honesty and love for her family helps me understand the family dynamics and gave insight to the questions I had. Listening to her journey was eye opening, authentic, and showed us a glimpse of humanity within the church.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 2022-06-22
Gripping storyline
I’m so glad that Megan narrated her own book. It means so much more to me listening to her share her story with such brutal honesty. The love for her family is so admirable as is her courage and authenticity. I hope Megan is working on another book because she is a beautiful writer inside and out.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 2020-04-12
This Book is a Neccesity!
Incredibly moving and inspirational. A book all of us must read. Beautiful in every way.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Fraser Simons
- 2022-08-04
Well narrated and interesting story throughout
I knew of the author from the Kevin Smith God Hates Westboro, but thinks Megan is hot, or however that went. Even in Canada and as a teen there’s some vague associations. It is wild that that teenager arrived at the place she is at now, divorced from indoctrination and, apparently, a pretty great memoirist.
Stories about motivated thinking, cultish behaviours always fascinate. I think because it’s horrific, and a good reminder to think critically. A check-in: what positions do you have that are indelible, and how did you come by them? A woman who grew up in a church that subjugated and molded young women like her is now witnessing in our polarized society, eerily similar rhetorics regarding the way we speak to one another. It really is disturbing.
Good story, probably not a surprise to anyone who had read something similar, but told well, earnest, well structured. It’s a bit unmoored in time and place sometimes, making it confusing. But otherwise she goes far more granular than I had expected and think this is a very smart move by her, since her family who ostracize her may actually read it. I didn’t even know about the whole god hates fangs in True Blood referencing this real life church doctrine. Wild.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Alexandra Toth
- 2023-09-22
Two things can be true
The author really helps you to understand how multidimensional the members of her family and faith are. I was surprised how many sweet, tender moments were had within this group of cruel people. It goes to show how even good people can do horrible, disgusting things when the de-humanize others by believing that they alone are right, chosen, and good. This book was more thought provoking, and gut wrenching than I expected.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Eric Forest
- 2020-09-17
Enlightening
Why do good people do bad things? Megan Phelps-Roper will tell you. Whatever we think we know, whoever we exclude, for whatever reasons, we need to doubt it all. The systems she describes are universal, are we are almost all deluded and complicit in something similar.
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2 people found this helpful