Survivor Blogs

This page began as a listing of bloggers who grew up in and were affected by the Christian Patriarchy and Quiverfull movements—which is best captured in a loose array of leaders and organizations, including Bill Gothard and ATI, Dough Phillips and Vision Forum, Doug Wilson, Michael and Debi Pearl, Joshua, Alex, and Brett Harris, and Michael Pearl—but it has since expanded.

This first section includes bloggers who were homeschooled within some flavor of Christian homeschooling and have now grown up to be critical of some or all of that movement and culture.

  1. And Such—I came out to my family a few weeks back.
  2. Anthony B. Susan—She was not a respectable married woman but fully a human being.
  3. BAM—Being a Christian has nothing to do with following rules.
  4. Beautiful Disarray—Surveying the aftermath of quiverfull devastation.
  5. Becoming Worldly—From an abusive childhood to a purposeful future.
  6. Between Black and White—A quiverfull girl who has realized she is worth something.
  7. Breathing Outside the Bubble—Learning to live after surviving fundamentalism.
  8. Bridging the Gap—Author, artist, filmmaker, geek, person.
  9. Broken Daughters—Picking up the shattered glass of fundamentalism.
  10. Broken Flowers—Life in the wake of the Catholic homesteading movement.
  11. Darcy’s Heart Stirrings—From ATI to life.
  12. Daughter of the Flame—Trying to figure out the puzzle of my life.
  13. Daughters of Junia—In high school I really believed.
  14. Defeating the Dragons—Writing is a healing balm.
  15. Dispelled—One girl’s journey in a home school cult.
  16. Dulce de Leche—Today there will be grace.
  17. The Eighth and Final Square—A place to rant, ramble, and process.
  18. Emily Maynard—She’s finding her voice and doesn’t plan to shut up anytime soon.
  19. Faith Filled Thoughts—I ask hard questions, and then I write about them.
  20. Feminist in Spite of Them—Finally feeling free to tell my story.
  21. Flying Free—Theologically, we were ultra conservative.
  22. For Heaven’s Sake—I just realized that it is totally okay to be exactly who I am.
  23. Freiheit 86—Once upon a time I was homeschooled . . . and then the world opened and was wonderful and everything changed. Myself most of all.
  24. Good and Lost—And this I must fight against: Any idea, religion, or government which limits or destroys the individual. This is what I am and what I am about.
  25. Heresy in the Heartland—A homeschool grad and her atheist kids.
  26. IBLP Detox—I wouldn’t consider myself to have all the answers.
  27. Incongruous Circumspection—Fasten your safety latches . . . you’re in for the time of your lives!
  28. Just A(my)’s Blog—Truth fears no questions.
  29. Katy-Anne Wilson—The long journey of recovery.
  30. Lana Hobbs, the Brave—Aspiring writer, perpetual seeker.
  31. Lauren Nicole—I live to make my life beautiful, and to speak truth in love.
  32. The Life and Opinions of Kathryn Elizabeth, Person—I was born at a very young age.
  33. Love, Joy, Feminism—Former evangelical turned atheist progressive feminist.
  34. Mari’s Musings—Just a few things I’ve been thinking about.
  35. The Neon God They Made—I’m done making excuses.
  36. Out of the Chrysalis—The defrauded daughters.
  37. Past Tense, Present Progressive—Contemplating my long journey from a childhood of isolation and repression to adulthood, independence, and happiness.
  38. Permission to Live—Pretty much everything changed.
  39. Phoenix and Olive Branch—Daughter of the patriarchy.
  40. Profligate Truth—Truth is beautiful without doubt; but so are lies.
  41. Quioxtic Fay—It’s been a slow process, but I’m getting there.
  42. Ramblings of Sheldon—Exposing the IFB.
  43. The Real Rebecca Diamond—“They” say a blog should be consistent, about one thing or another, and done a certain way. That’s them. This is me.
  44. Roses and Revolutionaries—For the world we’re hoping for.
  45. Somatic Strength—Speaking when the world sleeps.
  46. Spiritual Llama—A journey out of a life of fundamentalism and spiritual abuse.
  47. Tell Me Why the World Is Weird—Christianity, feminism, the world, and hopefully some cute pictures of animals.
  48. Time To Live, Friend—Taking hold of my life, finally.
  49. Walking in Christ—Learning to live as an independent lady.
  50. Who I Am Without You—Dealing with my past for the first time in my life.
  51. Wide Open Ground—An unfundamentalist conversion.
  52. Wine and Marble—We shall not cease from exploration.
  53. Quivering Daughters—Hope, healing, and gentle encouragement.
  54. X-ATI Girl—Don’t snicker. A lot of kids are hurting.

This next section includes a number of blogs written by women who were not homeschooled, but who did grow up in conservative Christian churches with opporessive gender ideologies. These blogs are part of what is sometimes referred to as the “ex patrio sphere” (a designation that contains many of the homeschool grad blogs listed above).

  1. Are Women Human?—Former evangelical; queer woman of color.
  2. Elizabeth Esther—Girl at the end of the world.
  3. The Ex-Convert—From evangelical to Catholic to agnostic.
  4. Faith and Feminism—Faith, feminism, theology, and purity.
  5. Sarah Over the Moon—Speaking, healing, talking back to God.
  6. Sojourner’s Truths—Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup.
  7. Spiritual Sounding Board—-I left an abusive church.

Finally, in addition to these blogs written by individuals, there are also several collaborative blogs that each share the stories and experiences of multiple individuals:

  1. Homeschoolers Anonymous—Homeschool grads speaking up.
  2. Recovering Grace—A Gothard generation sheds light on the teachings of IBLP and ATI.
  3. Rethinking Vision Forum—Examinging the fallacies of “godly” family living.
  4. SGM Survivors—Refugees from the abuses of Sovereign Grace Ministries.

If you know of any blogs you think should be added to this list, email me at lovejoyfeminism (at) gmail (d0t) com.

Note: Many if not most of the bloggers on this list blog under pseudonyms. A blog’s inclusion on this list does not mean that either I or Patheos are endorsing its content or veracity.