Small, Offbeat Religion Memoirs

1.
Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape
Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape 3.77 avg rating — 40,861 ratings
2.
Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith
Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith 4.01 avg rating — 220,433 ratings
3.
Escape
Escape 3.98 avg rating — 45,882 ratings
4.
Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots
Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 67,128 ratings
5.
Leaving Isn't the Hardest Thing
Leaving Isn't the Hardest Thing 3.42 avg rating — 10,422 ratings
6.
Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology
Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology 4.07 avg rating — 74,934 ratings
7.
Infidel
Infidel 4.20 avg rating — 91,943 ratings
8.
Stolen Innocence: My Story of Growing Up in a Polygamist Sect, Becoming a Teenage Bride, and Breaking Free of Warren Jeffs
Stolen Innocence: My Story of Growing Up in a Polygamist Sect, Becoming a Teenage Bride, and Breaking Free of Warren Jeffs 3.95 avg rating — 31,195 ratings
9.
The Glass Castle
The Glass Castle 4.32 avg rating — 1,325,572 ratings
10.
Cult Girls
Cult Girls 4.32 avg rating — 793 ratings
11.
Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief
Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief 4.04 avg rating — 44,512 ratings
12.
Educated
Educated 4.47 avg rating — 1,772,757 ratings
13.
Jesus Land: A Memoir
Jesus Land: A Memoir 3.97 avg rating — 19,432 ratings
14.
The Sound of Gravel
The Sound of Gravel 4.30 avg rating — 59,125 ratings
15.
Banished: Surviving My Years in the Westboro Baptist Church
Banished: Surviving My Years in the Westboro Baptist Church 3.56 avg rating — 4,146 ratings
16.
I'm Perfect, You're Doomed: Tales from a Jehovah's Witness Upbringing
I'm Perfect, You're Doomed: Tales from a Jehovah's Witness Upbringing 3.41 avg rating — 1,822 ratings
17.
fathermothergod: My Journey Out of Christian Science
fathermothergod: My Journey Out of Christian Science 3.90 avg rating — 2,826 ratings
18.
The Witness Wore Red: The 19th Wife Who Brought Polygamous Cult Leaders to Justice
The Witness Wore Red: The 19th Wife Who Brought Polygamous Cult Leaders to Justice 4.05 avg rating — 12,885 ratings
19.
Breaking Free
Breaking Free 4.11 avg rating — 14,841 ratings
20.
Seductive Poison: A Jonestown Survivor's Story of Life and Death in the Peoples Temple
Seductive Poison: A Jonestown Survivor's Story of Life and Death in the Peoples Temple 4.12 avg rating — 3,917 ratings
21.
Shattered Dreams: My Life as a Polygamist's Wife
Shattered Dreams: My Life as a Polygamist's Wife 3.85 avg rating — 8,784 ratings
22.
The Hiding Place: The Triumphant True Story of Corrie Ten Boom
The Hiding Place: The Triumphant True Story of Corrie Ten Boom 4.47 avg rating — 348,497 ratings
23.
Unfollow: A Journey from Hatred to Hope
Unfollow: A Journey from Hatred to Hope 4.15 avg rating — 18,494 ratings
24.
A Queer and Pleasant Danger: The True Story of a Nice Jewish Boy Who Joins the Church of Scientology and Leaves Twelve Years Later to Become the Lovely Lady She is Today
A Queer and Pleasant Danger: The True Story of a Nice Jewish Boy Who Joins the Church of Scientology and Leaves Twelve Years Later to Become the Lovely Lady She is Today 3.94 avg rating — 3,618 ratings
25.
All Who Go Do Not Return
All Who Go Do Not Return 4.29 avg rating — 6,298 ratings
26.
I Am Hutterite: The Fascinating True Story of a Young Woman's Journey to Reclaim Her Heritage
I Am Hutterite: The Fascinating True Story of a Young Woman's Journey to Reclaim Her Heritage 3.76 avg rating — 4,467 ratings
27.
Salvation on Sand Mountain: Snake-Handling and Redemption in Southern Appalachia
Salvation on Sand Mountain: Snake-Handling and Redemption in Southern Appalachia 3.93 avg rating — 4,445 ratings
28.
His Favorite Wife: Trapped in Polygamy
His Favorite Wife: Trapped in Polygamy 3.93 avg rating — 5,272 ratings
29.
Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith
Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith 4.14 avg rating — 48,282 ratings
30.
Cartwheels in a Sari: A Memoir of Growing Up Cult
Cartwheels in a Sari: A Memoir of Growing Up Cult 3.36 avg rating — 1,005 ratings
31.
Holy Ghost Girl: A Memoir
Holy Ghost Girl: A Memoir 3.74 avg rating — 2,220 ratings
32.
Lost Boy
Lost Boy 3.90 avg rating — 4,163 ratings
33.
I Fired God: My Life Inside—and Escape from—the Secret World of the Independent Fundamental Baptist Cult
I Fired God: My Life Inside—and Escape from—the Secret World of the Independent Fundamental Baptist Cult 4.06 avg rating — 1,254 ratings
34.
Prophet's Prey: My Seven-Year Investigation into Warren Jeffs and the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints
Prophet's Prey: My Seven-Year Investigation into Warren Jeffs and the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints 3.98 avg rating — 6,954 ratings
35.
Cut Me Loose: Sin and Salvation After My Ultra-Orthodox Girlhood
Cut Me Loose: Sin and Salvation After My Ultra-Orthodox Girlhood 3.70 avg rating — 2,994 ratings
36.
Cult Child
Cult Child 3.81 avg rating — 714 ratings
37.
Evolving in Monkey Town: How a Girl Who Knew All the Answers Learned to Ask the Questions
Evolving in Monkey Town: How a Girl Who Knew All the Answers Learned to Ask the Questions 4.24 avg rating — 10,819 ratings
38.
A Thousand Lives: The Untold Story of Hope, Deception, and Survival at Jonestown
A Thousand Lives: The Untold Story of Hope, Deception, and Survival at Jonestown 4.01 avg rating — 5,116 ratings
39.
A Girl Named Zippy: Growing Up Small in Mooreland, Indiana
A Girl Named Zippy: Growing Up Small in Mooreland, Indiana 3.80 avg rating — 37,392 ratings
40.
My Life in Orange
My Life in Orange
by: Tim Guest
3.50 avg rating — 2,554 ratings
41.
The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance: A Memoir
The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance: A Memoir 3.61 avg rating — 7,467 ratings
42.
The Rebbe's Army: Inside the World of Chabad-Lubavitch
The Rebbe's Army: Inside the World of Chabad-Lubavitch 3.97 avg rating — 635 ratings
43.
Growing Up Amish
Growing Up Amish 3.40 avg rating — 13,515 ratings
44.
Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: A Memoir of Going Home
Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: A Memoir of Going Home 3.19 avg rating — 32,480 ratings
45.
Daughter of the Saints: Growing Up in Polygamy
Daughter of the Saints: Growing Up in Polygamy 3.83 avg rating — 1,076 ratings
46.
Church of Lies
Church of Lies 3.94 avg rating — 2,993 ratings
47.
The Book of Mormon Girl: Stories from an American Faith
The Book of Mormon Girl: Stories from an American Faith 3.54 avg rating — 3,203 ratings
48.
Confessions of a Latter-day Virgin: A Memoir
Confessions of a Latter-day Virgin: A Memoir 3.86 avg rating — 1,130 ratings
49.
Unchosen: The Hidden Lives of Hasidic Rebels
Unchosen: The Hidden Lives of Hasidic Rebels 3.78 avg rating — 1,246 ratings
50.
Girl on a Wire: Walking the Line Between Faith and Freedom in the Westboro Baptist Church
Girl on a Wire: Walking the Line Between Faith and Freedom in the Westboro Baptist Church 3.74 avg rating — 630 ratings
51.
All Who Believed: A Memoir of Life in the Twelve Tribes
All Who Believed: A Memoir of Life in the Twelve Tribes 4.42 avg rating — 76 ratings
52.
Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith
Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith 4.13 avg rating — 9,277 ratings
53.
All the Fishes Come Home to Roost
All the Fishes Come Home to Roost 3.72 avg rating — 811 ratings
54.
Leaving the Saints: How I Lost the Mormons and Found My Faith
Leaving the Saints: How I Lost the Mormons and Found My Faith 3.88 avg rating — 4,943 ratings
55.
Pastrix: The Cranky, Beautiful Faith of a Sinner & Saint
Pastrix: The Cranky, Beautiful Faith of a Sinner & Saint 4.33 avg rating — 13,869 ratings
56.
Accidental Saints: Finding God in All the Wrong People
Accidental Saints: Finding God in All the Wrong People 4.20 avg rating — 13,994 ratings
57.
In the Shadow of the Moons: My Life in the Reverend Sun Myung Moon's Family
In the Shadow of the Moons: My Life in the Reverend Sun Myung Moon's Family 3.79 avg rating — 273 ratings
57.
Inside Scientology: The Story of America's Most Secretive Religion
Inside Scientology: The Story of America's Most Secretive Religion 3.87 avg rating — 9,538 ratings
59.
Foreskin's Lament
Foreskin's Lament 3.88 avg rating — 6,210 ratings
60.
The Truth Book: Escaping a Childhood of Abuse Among Jehovah's Witnesses
The Truth Book: Escaping a Childhood of Abuse Among Jehovah's Witnesses 4.11 avg rating — 289 ratings
60.
The Polygamist's Daughter
The Polygamist's Daughter 3.63 avg rating — 14,001 ratings
60.
Saving Alex: When I Was Fifteen I Told My Mormon Parents I Was Gay, and That's When My Nightmare Began
Saving Alex: When I Was Fifteen I Told My Mormon Parents I Was Gay, and That's When My Nightmare Began 4.12 avg rating — 2,160 ratings
63.
Why I Left the Amish
Why I Left the Amish 3.49 avg rating — 588 ratings
64.
My Fundamentalist Education: A Memoir of a Divine Girlhood
My Fundamentalist Education: A Memoir of a Divine Girlhood 3.40 avg rating — 112 ratings
65.
Waiting for the Apocalypse: A Memoir of Faith and Family
Waiting for the Apocalypse: A Memoir of Faith and Family 3.79 avg rating — 141 ratings
66.
Cult Insanity: A Memoir of Polygamy, Prophets, and Blood Atonement
Cult Insanity: A Memoir of Polygamy, Prophets, and Blood Atonement 3.67 avg rating — 1,655 ratings
67.
Becoming Free Indeed: My Story of Disentangling Faith from Fear
Becoming Free Indeed: My Story of Disentangling Faith from Fear 3.62 avg rating — 49,376 ratings
68.
Trespassers Will Be Baptized: The Unordained Memoir of a Preacher's Daughter
Trespassers Will Be Baptized: The Unordained Memoir of a Preacher's Daughter 3.54 avg rating — 159 ratings
69.
Greetings from Utopia Park: Surviving a Transcendent Childhood
Greetings from Utopia Park: Surviving a Transcendent Childhood 3.70 avg rating — 1,022 ratings
70.
Daughter of Gloriavale: My Life in a Religious Cult
Daughter of Gloriavale: My Life in a Religious Cult really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1,883 ratings
71.
Shunned: How I Lost My Religion and Found Myself
Shunned: How I Lost My Religion and Found Myself 3.89 avg rating — 771 ratings
72.
Hollywood Park
Hollywood Park 4.29 avg rating — 16,295 ratings
73.
Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back
Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back 3.68 avg rating — 2,237 ratings
74.
Counting the Cost
Counting the Cost really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 145,755 ratings
75.
The Little Way of Ruthie Leming: A Southern Girl, a Small Town, and the Secret of a Good Life
The Little Way of Ruthie Leming: A Southern Girl, a Small Town, and the Secret of a Good Life 3.91 avg rating — 2,618 ratings
75.
Once You Go In: A Memoir of Radical Faith
Once You Go In: A Memoir of Radical Faith 4.09 avg rating — 296 ratings
77.
Tears of the Silenced
Tears of the Silenced 4.28 avg rating — 25,856 ratings
78.
Raven: The Untold Story of the Rev. Jim Jones and His People
Raven: The Untold Story of the Rev. Jim Jones and His People 4.32 avg rating — 2,615 ratings
79.
The Last Year of the War
The Last Year of the War 3.92 avg rating — 59 ratings
79.
Dating Jesus: A Story of Fundamentalism, Feminism, and the American Girl
Dating Jesus: A Story of Fundamentalism, Feminism, and the American Girl 3.43 avg rating — 429 ratings
81.
Born into the Children of God
Born into the Children of God 3.83 avg rating — 1,305 ratings
82.
Embraced By The Light
Embraced By The Light 3.97 avg rating — 9,844 ratings
83.
The Class of '65: A Student, a Divided Town, and the Long Road to Forgiveness
The Class of '65: A Student, a Divided Town, and the Long Road to Forgiveness 4.39 avg rating — 444 ratings
84.
Taking Back God: American Women Rising Up for Religious Equality
Taking Back God: American Women Rising Up for Religious Equality really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 44 ratings
85.
Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality
Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality 3.90 avg rating — 117,670 ratings
86.
Black Klansman
Black Klansman 3.62 avg rating — 21,422 ratings
87.
Through the Narrow Gate: A Memoir of Spiritual Discovery
Through the Narrow Gate: A Memoir of Spiritual Discovery 4.12 avg rating — 2,224 ratings
88.
Secret Ceremonies: A Mormon Woman's Intimate Diary of Marriage and Beyond
Secret Ceremonies: A Mormon Woman's Intimate Diary of Marriage and Beyond 3.36 avg rating — 993 ratings
88.
Becoming Un-Orthodox: Stories of Ex-Hasidic Jews
Becoming Un-Orthodox: Stories of Ex-Hasidic Jews 3.45 avg rating — 131 ratings
90.
Here and There: Leaving Hasidism, Keeping My Family
Here and There: Leaving Hasidism, Keeping My Family 3.63 avg rating — 222 ratings
91.
Escape: My Lifelong War Against Cults
Escape: My Lifelong War Against Cults 4.06 avg rating — 32 ratings
92.
Uncovered: How I Left Hasidic Life and Finally Came Home
Uncovered: How I Left Hasidic Life and Finally Came Home
by: Leah Lax
3.97 avg rating — 1,525 ratings
93.
Out of the Cocoon: A Young Woman's Courageous Flight from the Grip of a Religious Cult
Out of the Cocoon: A Young Woman's Courageous Flight from the Grip of a Religious Cult 3.47 avg rating — 96 ratings
93.
More Than Conquerors: A Memoir of Lost Arguments
More Than Conquerors: A Memoir of Lost Arguments 3.20 avg rating — 74 ratings
95.
Jonestown Survivor: An Insider's Look
Jonestown Survivor: An Insider's Look 3.25 avg rating — 130 ratings
96.
Crossing Over: One Woman's Escape from Amish Life
Crossing Over: One Woman's Escape from Amish Life 3.22 avg rating — 1,560 ratings
97.
What Peace There May Be:a Memoir
What Peace There May Be:a Memoir 3.55 avg rating — 44 ratings
98.
Attic Alone: An Ex-Jehovah's Witness Finds the Church
Attic Alone: An Ex-Jehovah's Witness Finds the Church 3.60 avg rating — 5 ratings
99.
Exodus: A Memoir
Exodus: A Memoir 3.47 avg rating — 4,184 ratings
99.
In the Days of Rain: A Daughter, a Father, a Cult
In the Days of Rain: A Daughter, a Father, a Cult 3.69 avg rating — 2,785 ratings
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