At one point in my long evangelical life, I found myself fantasizing about the missionary world. While a paraplegic, I was convinced I had a place serving God in places most people could never imagined.

I never pursued this fantasy. Truthfully, I wasn't built for it. Beyond one brief trip to Haiti (and short-term missions are an entirely other discussion), my ministry life has been here in the United States.

With precision, insight, and sharp analysis, historian Holly Berkley Fletcher, herself a "missionary kid" or MK, explores this world evangelical missionary work specifically focusing on the experiences of the children of missionaries.

Fletcher unveils, over and over again, how the experiences of these MKs illuminate the broader currents present in American Christianity. This book is neither as dark as you might expect it to be, though it gets mighty dark at times, nor the celebration that those who nearly idolize evangelical missionaries might want it to be. Instead, it's, well, historical. It's constantly insightful, occasionally disturbing, frequently revealing, and fiercely thought-provoking from beginning to end. Written from a perspective of historical analysis, "The Missionary Kids" lacks the emotional resonance, at least for the most part, that might make it a more engaging read yet is also a book destined to be explored by clergy, theologians, and seminarians for years to come.

This is a world worthy of exploration and Fletcher explores it.

Fletcher doesn't hold back from diving deep into areas faced by MKs - God's calling, racism, privilege, faith, and most starkly abuse. Fletcher explores the mechanisms behind white evangelicalism by interviewing some of those most directly impacted by it. The end result is simultaneously compassionate and jarring.

A Southern Baptist MK in Kenya, Fletcher reveals how calling, multiculturalism, saints, and indispensability can allow for distraction from the weaknesses of the movement. Fletcher captures the weight carried by MKs, portraying family life amidst the "missionary industrial complex" and a world where one does not distract from the work of the Lord often at the cost of sexual abuse, relationships, and simple human connection.

In a movement that often raises up those who are called into the missionary world, the children often become sacrificed as if Isaac. Holly Berkley Fletcher powerfully unmasks the myths of white evangelicalism while also giving voice to MKs who've often been expected to remain silent.