Good morning from a rainy morning in Northern Michigan! I am really excited about a couple of upcoming events, and I hope you’ll be able to join me if you’re in the area.
Surviving the Law: Legal Advocacy for Survivors and Scholars
University of California, Riverside, and Virtual, May 30-31
This hybrid conference event is designed as an opportunity to connect legal experts, advocates, survivors, and scholars to engage with the opportunities and perils of petitioning cases in the judicial system. It will also include panels of scholars, legal advocates, and survivors sharing their first-hand experiences with navigating the judicial system.
Speakers include my friends Sara Moslener and Mary Byler, among many other experts. Hosted by the Religion & Sexual Abuse Project.
My talk is titled: “Father Knows Best: When You Don’t Have Agency to Seek Legal Help”
Registration closes tomorrow, May 15!
Sarah Stankorb and Cait West in Conversation on Disobedient Women
Grand Rapids, Michigan, June 26
Join me and Sarah Stankorb for a discussion about the impact of Christian patriarchy, a school of thought that teaches women's submission to their father, then husband, and is practiced in some high-control churches. By sharing personal stories, as well as stories of other women in the church, we’ll voice the possibility of exposing wrongdoing, changing the narrative, breaking free from unrealistic expectations, and building a better future.
This event is free to attend, however, it helps us in planning to receive your RSVP. Please register here so we know you plan to join us: RSVP.
Our books will be available for purchase and signing at the event.
About Sarah Stankorb:
SARAH STANKORB has written hundreds of reported articles and essays, which have appeared in publications, including: The Washington Post, The New York Times, Vogue, Marie Claire, Glamour, and VICE. She was born in Youngstown, Ohio, and as a kid, often found escape in books. She studied religion and philosophy at Westminster College, and ethics and South Asian religion and history at the University of Chicago’s Divinity School. Her beat spans religion, politics, gender, and power, but is informed by questions of basic morality. This means investigating wrongdoing; it can mean reporting on how people find the strength to prevail. Sarah lives in Ohio with her husband and two children.
You can keep up with all upcoming events at caitwest.com/events.
“Evangelical Fantasies in Amish Country”
In case you missed it, I recently had a piece published in The Christian Century about the play “Josiah for President” and patriarchy and abuse in Plain communities. You can read it here. I also sat down with my editor, Jon Mathieu for a quick chat to dive deeper:
Thank you, as always, for being here, and never forget: Your story matters.
— Cait
Rift: A Memoir of Breaking Away from Christian Patriarchy is available now, wherever you get your books!