Overview

""With her years of experience working with and advocating for survivors, Katherine Spearing is an important voice on the issue of spiritual abuse in the American evangelical church."" -Cait West, author of Rift: A Memoir of Breaking Away from Christian Patriarchy A Thousand Tiny Paper Cuts is a raw, arresting dive beneath the glossy surface of American evangelicalism, exposing the often-invisible damage of spiritual abuse. Drawing on her upbringing in the Christian Patriarchy Movement, her former role as a ministry leader, and her work founding the nonprofit Tears of Eden, Katherine Spearing offers an unflinching look at the wounds that religious institutions cause, which are impossible to ignore, and helps you name and understand them. The book's title evokes the nature of these injuries, small, subtle, and nefarious, cuts that bleed out over a lifetime. With piercing insight and a voice both tender and fierce, Spearing unpacks power imbalances, spiritual gaslighting, and the silent corrosion of autonomy under abusive religious systems. From the application of shame to the shattering of trust, she exposes what happens when faith is used as a weapon, and what it takes to walk away. With moments of wit, clarity, and deep compassion, this survivor-centered narrative doesn't just expose abuse; it provides a path toward a thriving life. A Thousand Tiny Paper Cuts is essential reading for anyone deconstructing harmful faith, supporting survivors, or daring to imagine a life beyond the confines of religious control.

Full Product Details

9781957687629

Table of Contents

Reviews

""For anyone trying to make sense of their journey through the confusing maze of religious abuse recovery, Katherine's treatment of this topic is authentic, courageous, original, clear, humorous and deeply true."" Connie A. Baker, MA, LPC ""For everyone who's ever taken a chance-or wanted to take a chance-on escaping the constraints of high-control religion, A Thousand Tiny Paper Cuts will validate and fortify you."" Christa Brown, author of Baptistland ""A Thousand Tiny Paper Cuts lays bare the thin, often invisible line between growing up in a cult and simply being raised 'a devout Christian' in America."" Mattie Jo Cowsert, author of God, Sex, and Rich People ""Katherine Spearing's A Thousand Tiny Paper Cuts is a vital, personal guide for survivors of spiritual abuse."" Sarah Edmondson, author of Scarred and host A Little Bit Culty Podcast ""With haunting prose, Spearing tells of the ways that spiritual abuse continues to find many of us in the dark. For all its probing of white evangelicalism's dark heart, this is a soulful book."" Audrey Clare Farley, author of Girls and Their Monsters ""With her years of experience working with and advocating for survivors, Katherine Spearing is an important voice on the issue of spiritual abuse in the American evangelical church."" Cait West, author of Rift: A Memoir of Breaking Away from Christian Patriarchy

Author Information

Katherine Spearing, MA, CTRC, is the founder of Tears of Eden, a nonprofit supporting survivors of spiritual abuse and is a Certified Trauma Recovery Practitioner with a Master of Arts in Religion and Cultures. For five seasons, she hosted the groundbreaking podcast Uncertain, pioneering pivotal conversations around abuse in churches. In addition to working with survivors of trauma and abuse, she is an author, sought-after podcast guest, and advocate for women reclaiming their autonomy after systemic oppression.

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