*Gay Girl, Good God by Jackie Hill Perry

In evocative, lyrical prose, Jackie Hill Perry shares her spiritual journey in Gay Girl, Good God.

*Gay Girl, Good God: The Story of Who I Was, and Who God Has Always Been by Jackie Hill Perry. B&H Books, 2018. 208 pages.

• Reading Level: Adults
• Recommended For: Ages 15 and up

“This is not a book to be skimmed or speed read,” Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth warns readers in its introduction. Rather, she continues, it should be “. . . savored and pondered, as Jackie looks through the lens of Scripture and her own journey to unpack such realities as fatherlessness, abuse, same-sex attraction, identity, temptation, fighting lust with the gospel, and misconceptions of womanhood.” There is a lot going on in this slim book.

In Gay Girl, Good God, Jackie Hill Perry invites readers into her story. In Part 1: Who I Was, she shares her early life experiences, all that led to her decision to embrace her feelings and live as a lesbian. Perry’s style is raw and deep. It confronts readers and invites them into her story. Such is the power of her storytelling, that it’s easy to slip into her shoes and feel her conflict of emotion at high school prom as a girl she admires asks her to be her girlfriend. She brushes it off, “I ain’t gay!” Before admitting to readers, “I was attracted to women before I knew how to spell my name.”

MORE TO THE STORY

Yet, in and around her own story, Jackie weaves in an even older story: the first story of sin and fall, and then, as she experiences it herself, the story of redemption. This isn’t an easy read. It isn’t meant to be. Perry is a gifted artist and her words and passion are haunting. She is honest, often brutally so. “Between fatherlessness and sexual abuse, my entire frame of reference for people God made male was built on the experience of their doing.” She remembers herself, “A girl child whose first introduction to male affection wouldn’t be her daddy’s hug but another male’s lusts.” Powerful and evocative, Perry draws readers in yet points them beyond pain and sin to the glorious power and redemption of the greatest Story.

She muses, “Apparently, this body was never mine to begin with; it was given to me from Somebody, for Somebody. Somebody who’d made it for glory and not shame.” Part 2: Who I Became, shares her transformation. For Perry, her identity in her sexuality, in her love for a woman, was a stumbling block. Yet, she came to understand God’s call to her was more than a call to change her feelings. Rather, “In my becoming Holy as He is, I would not be miraculously made into a woman that didn’t like women; I’d be made into a woman that loved God more than anything.” Perry takes readers through her early years of sanctification, becoming a Christian and a poet and her battles with sin, not just the sin of her past life, but the sin of pride. She shares the unexpected romance that God allowed, and candidly admits to her personal struggles along the way to marriage.

WHAT TO DO WITH SAME SEX ATTRACTION

While Perry engages with truth and quotes scripture throughout her memoir, she spends the last 3 chapters, Part 3, thoughtfully engaging with the concept of Same Sex Attraction and Identity, Endurance, and the Heterosexual Gospel. Perry is compassionate, nuanced, and bold in calling readers to the truth. In her final chapter, she condemns evangelism that first tries to change sexuality and encourage heterosexual behavior. She encourages churches to focus on the important role singles play within Christian life, even if they never marry. Through it all, Perry wants to keep our focus on the gospel, and she is committed to refocusing attention to the truth of a Good God.

Considerations:

• Perry is raw and candid in her memoir. While appropriate for its audience, this is not a book for younger readers. See review for more information.

Bottom Line: While not written for young adults, the literary style and poetic voice of Gay Girl, Good God will appeal to thoughtful, mature poetry-loving teens and adult readers.

*indicates a starred review, the best of the best in its field.

Recommended Reading at Redeemed Reader

• Reviews: For younger readers, here are two books about sexuality from a Christian perspective; the second directly addresses same sex attraction (among other issues) and targets teens.
• Reviews: Reading and Talking About Sexuality includes books especially for teens and up.
• Reviews: Confronting Christianity by McLaughlin is excellent for older teens and adults; McLaughlin also alludes to her own struggle with same sex attraction early in the book. For younger readers, see McLaughlin’s 10 Questions Every Teen Should Ask (and Answer) About Christianity.

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