Finding Sunlight

In the inspirational coming-of-age memoir, “Finding Sunlight” (Wise Ink, November 2023), Chrissy Holm separates purity culture, LGBTQ religious trauma, and a patriarchal father-daughter relationship from all the possibilities of meaningful love.

The church has a lot of views on women’s relationships. Respect the sanctity of marriage. Save yourself for your husband. And never, ever think about having a wife.

Homeschooled at church and raised by a devout father, Chrissy internalized scripture’s strictest messages. She suppressed her bisexuality and followed all the teachings of purity culture.

When she turned sixteen, her parent’s divorce flipped the script. Devastated and unsure of her values, Chrissy jumped from one relationship to another, searching for commitment and solace from a depression that crept more to the forefront every day.

Readers who grew up in evangelical or fundamentalist religious communities will find themselves in these stories as Chrissy seeks meaning in her religious upbringing—finding forgiveness for her dad, her past relationships, and ultimately, herself.

Raw and hopeful, this liberating memoir is an intimate look at how one woman found the courage to question what she was taught to believe to uncover her own truth and navigate love with pride.

“We don’t have a map or directions for relationships, love, religion, or God. We get lost. We stumble . . . and we pray that we will find the sunlight.”