Can I read you a story?
(mine)
December is bonkers for almost everyone - especially if you’re a working parent (not to mention my interfaith family with multiple holidays to observe).
But for some reason I decided to make the end of my year extra nuts by spending a week in New York recording my audiobook version of my book, The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church, which is coming out in just a few months!
Recording an audiobook was a brand-new - and kinda fascinating - experience.
To be honest, I kind of hoped I’d just waltz into that studio and nail it like a pro. After all, I’m an audio journalist. If I can’t read words on a page, what can I do? Plus, I’d grown up watching my dad, a radio guy and sometimes-voiceover freelancer, in the studio.
(This is where I need to stipulate that I’m no nepo baby; he’s a Christian radio guy which is, uhm, maybe not something you lead with when applying for a job in public radio.)
Anyway, the bottom line is it’s harder than it looks.
First, reading a book, I’ve learned, is not the same as reading news copy. My director helpfully coached me on how to break out of the “NPR newslady voice” and just…read my story. Which turned out to be a really fun, cool opportunity to flex a new set of muscles.
Second, my book is part memoir, and reading the whole thing straight through - including some personal, intimate, even painful parts of my life that felt important to share - is honestly pretty exhausting.
So (as predicted by the audiobook professionals!), the process took the better part of a week. In the end, I enjoyed the change of pace. And I was reminded of something I’d nearly forgotten from my high school and college choir days: the vital importance of hot tea for keeping those vocal chords limber - even though I’m normally a coffee loyalist.
Most of all, as I revisited the manuscript, I felt really proud of the book and excited to share it with you, very soon.
If you haven’t pre-ordered, I’d be so grateful if you would! You can choose between the hardcover, e-book, and the aforementioned audiobook. Pre-sales are so helpful to an author’s success. I’m pleased to say that it’s getting some wonderful early reviews, and I can’t wait to share it with you.
Lots of pre-order options here. (Thank you.)
Hi Sarah! I just finished reading an ARC of The Exvangelicals and I wanted to let you know how much I loved it. I’m a writer and bookseller in central OR. I’m also an audiobook narrator. Kudos to getting through a week in the booth!
I was also born in Feb 1981, and I grew up in the Assemblies of God and Foursquare denominations (both Pentecostal). I went to a more liberal Christian university, Seattle Pacific and attended the train wreck that was Mars Hill Church in its early days, which is what started the unraveling of my faith. I appreciate the method and thoroughness of your research and the vulnerability of sharing your own story. Thank you for writing this book. I plan to buy it for at least 5 people I know and my husband is about to start on the Arc. I nominated it for Indie Next!
I just pre-ordered the audio book. As a transplant from the Midwest to the SE / buckle of the Bible Belt, I am looking forward to your story. Although catechism was a requirement growing up in my family home, I too chose a different path in adulthood.