STRAY

This is a collection of poetry and prose detailing the author's personal and emotional journey through navigating a faith crisis and stepping away from a high-demand religion. This book encompasses themes of grief, loss, doubt, self-healing, self-worth, inspiration, and motivation all through the lens of spirituality.

The author wrote this poetry to process all of the emotions she was experiencing alone: The guilt of recognizing her relief as she stepped away from the church, the loss of her faith she once held dear, the remorse of knowing her loved ones would blame themselves, the elation of gaining new spirituality on her own terms, and all of the other intricate and heart-breaking realizations she had to come to terms with when she would inevitably 'stray' from her faith.

The author is not the only one to have experienced this journey alone. Within the ex-Mormon community there are thousands of accounts of becoming isolated from family members because they believe they took "the easy way out." This book describes exactly why it isn't. The author wrote this book to process her own emotions through this ordeal, but she's publishing it in the hopes it can enlighten families in high-demand religions who have a loved one who has left, or provide comfort for someone who is experiencing their own faith crisis.