
Out of Focus
My Story of Sexuality, Shame, and Toxic Evangelicalism
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Narrated by:
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Amber Cantorna-Wylde
When a mass shooter killed five people in an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, grieving people graffitied James Dobson's Focus on the Family headquarters with the words "Their blood is on your hands." Such an accusation comes as no surprise to Amber Cantorna-Wylde, whose father is a Focus on the Family executive and cast Amber out of her family when she came out in 2012. From severed family ties to malicious murder, such enmity is the fruit of a religious movement that considers it more faithful to reject your child or even to kill than to accept and love LGBTQ+ people. Evangelical organizations like Dobson's, along with pastors like Jerry Falwell, Franklin Graham, and Robert Jeffress, built an empire out of their conservative Christian beliefs and convinced millions of Americans that sexual purity, patriarchal families, and militaristic nationalism were God's priority. Cantorna-Wylde shows listeners how the political and personal intertwine to cause shame and suffering that Jesus would never desire, including the long-term effects of identity-repression, trauma, and family estrangement. A blend of heart-wrenching memoir and astute cultural analysis, Out of Focus will help heal individuals harmed by evangelicalism's toxic influence and inspire Christian communities to pursue a path of love and inclusion.
©2023 Amber Cantorna-Wylde, Foreword Copyright 2023 by Westminster John Knox Press (P)2023 eChristianListeners also enjoyed...




















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As a former evangelical, I have been trying to understand the far-right turn of that form of Christianity since 2016. This helps me grasp how the embrace of white heterosexual male dominant sexuality has shaped this part of the American church, while bleeding into Catholicism & mainline churches as well.
Beyond sociology, this is a revealing life story of how we as humans can be kinder & more accepting of one another.
I read this in one day because I could not stop engaging with it.
Deeply Insightful
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Amazing
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This resonates with my soul
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A valuable part of my recent journey has been a commitment to reading the stories of those who are different or on the margins, to hopefully help is see how much we all share the same yearnings and desires, and to make the world a safer, more inclusive and loving place. Thank you Amber for helping us all along that path.
Raw, Honest, heartfelt
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Excellent work
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giving words to those of us who can't find them
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