TW: sexual violence; intimate partner violence; postpartum PTSD This week’s guest is Grace. Grace was fortunate not to grow up in the church, but when she became a Christian in high school, she—in her own words—“quickly became the quintessential insufferable Christian teenager.” Grace was a zealous believer for years, and it wasn’t until she had her first child that the questions began coming. At first, she didn’t think she was deconstructing her faith; she saw it as spiritual growth. But then—as with many other guests—“the Pandemic hit.” While in lockdown, more than theological questions came up for Grace. With her husband’s support, online friends, and medication, Grace managed, but one thing was missing. What she needed but couldn’t find, she created. hyssopandlaurel.com is a “grassroots arts and literary magazine for religious deconstructionists.” It is a thriving community of creative minds coming together to make art and poetry, sharing their stories because their stories matter. Links Website https://hyssopandlaurel.com/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hyssopandlaurel/ Link Tree https://linktr.ee/hyssopandlaurel Interact For quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show notes https://gracefulatheist.com/2023/04/02/grace-hyssop-laurel/ Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversion Support the podcast on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/gracefulatheist Secular Grace https://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/ Deconversion https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/ Deconstruction https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/ Attribution "Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beats https://makaihbeats.net/