Share Your Story

This paper's own argument is that testimony from inside this movement belongs beside the documentary record, not beneath it. If you grew up in this world, worked inside one of its institutions, or watched it up close, your account matters here on the same footing as a catalog quote or a court filing.

This isn't only about accounts. If you still have a catalog, a curriculum binder, a conference recording, a photograph, a newsletter — anything that documents this world from the inside — that belongs in the archive too, alongside your story or on its own.

Nothing you submit is published automatically. Every submission is read by a small trusted team before anything goes live, and you decide how — or whether — you're identified. You can withdraw or edit what you've shared at any time.

Path 2 — Tell It Yourself

The questions below were put together with input from therapists, aimed at collecting testimony as accurately and completely as possible without asking you to unearth more than you're ready to share right now.

On consent.

Every question below is optional. Skip anything, answer partially, write as much or as little as you want, stop at any point — including after you've already started — and ask that anything you've shared be deleted, at any time, for any reason. Nothing you write here will be published, quoted, or used beyond this project's own private research notes without your explicit, informed consent, given separately and specifically for that use.

Name or pseudonym

Best way to reach you (email preferred)

Where and when were you born, and what did that world look like for your family when you were young?

Who held authority in your household and community, and what did that look like day to day?

Was there a specific person, book, conference, or moment that pulled your family deeper in — or did it just feel like it was always there?

How was your access to the outside world controlled — internet, phone, books, friendships? Was anything specifically off-limits, and do you remember why?

Did your family or community practice any kind of discipline, shunning, or exclusion — of you, or of anyone else you knew? What led to it, and how did people respond?

Is there a moment that stands out to you as the clearest example of what that world did to you? Share whatever you're comfortable with — if other people happened to be present, that's useful to mention, but only if it feels right to include.

A lot of us who got out are queer, trans, neurodivergent, or some combination — if any of that's true for you, how did growing up in that world shape your sense of self, and how has leaving changed that?

What was leaving like — a single triggering moment, or a slow unraveling? Who supported you, and who tried to stop you? And afterward, did the story your family or community told about your leaving match what actually happened?

What conferences, camps, co-ops, or ministries was your family part of — and did any adults in your life have actual roles there (speaker, staff, board, writer)?

Are there people from that world you'd be willing to introduce me to, if they're open to it? Separately — is there anyone whose story you think matters, even if you're not the one to reach out to them?

Do you have any surviving documents — photos, blog posts, letters, anything — from that time, even if they seem minor?

Attach a scan or photo, if you have one handy (optional)

Looking back now, what do you wish someone had told you, or asked you, at the time? What do you most want people outside this world to understand?

How would you like to be identified? (optional — you can decide later)

Full name First name only A chosen pseudonym Fully anonymous

Whatever you choose, nothing is published under any name without your review of exactly how it will appear.

A note on safety.

Some contributors are still in contact with, or financially or socially entangled with, the people or institutions they're describing. There's no wrong answer here — just worth a moment of thought about your own safety in what you share and how you're identified, especially if anonymity matters to you.

I understand that participation is entirely optional, that submitting this form is not the same as publishing it, and that nothing goes live without my review and approval. I can skip any question, edit or withdraw what I've shared, or ask that it be deleted entirely, at any time.

Your Story Is Evidence

Path 1 — Reach Out Directly

Path 2 — Tell It Yourself