Recovering from Purity Culture is Available for Pre-Order Now!
We know what is wrong with purity culture. Now we need to know how to heal.
Available now for pre-order—my book, Recovering from Purity Culture, which publishes October 15 by Baker Books! And today I am giving a behind-the-scenes look at the title, cover, foreword, and endorsements, plus a sneak peek of the pre-order bonuses!
Book Description
From the publisher:
We know what is wrong with purity culture—now we need to know how to heal.
Drawing on historical and psychological research, her own personal experience, and therapy case studies, Dr. Camden Morgante tackles what comes next in reclaiming our sexuality from the harmful teachings so many evangelical Christians grew up believing.
With great compassion and insight, Dr. Camden
· exposes five myths of purity culture and their effects on individuals and relationships
· offers proven therapy techniques to replace harmful lies with healing truth
· provides strategies to overcome shame in the mind and body
· explores the connection between purity culture, trauma, and faith deconstruction
· helps the hurting reconstruct their faith with peace and acceptance
A healthy sexuality is not out of reach for those who have been harmed by purity culture. You can find freedom from shame, restrictive gender roles, and stunted relationships.
Dr. Camden shows you the path forward.
Title + Cover
The title an author suggests does not always get approved by the publisher’s marketing team. So I was pleased that the team agreed with the title my agent and I pitched them: Recovering from Purity Culture.
They stayed pretty true to the original subtitle we pitched too, which was Dismantle the Myths, Overcome Shame, and Rebuild Your Faith. After a few discussions, we settled on Dismantle the Myths, Reject Shame-Based Sexuality, and Move Forward in Your Faith, which was a bit wordier than my original suggestion, but still hit the main topics of the book: the myths, shame, sexuality, and faith. After sitting with it for a bit, I felt the word “reject” wasn’t right, as I wanted my book to be more forward-looking (“overcome”) than just what we are against (“reject”). When we reject something, we have to find something to take its place. But the publisher felt “overcome” makes too many promises, so alas, we settled on “reject”.
Nailing the right cover was a bit more of a tousle. For the cover, I knew I wanted a white cover to symbolize purity and black font to provide contrast (and symbolize the black-and-white nature of purity culture). Although I wanted the text to be the main focus, I also wanted a red rose incorporated on the cover. The book opens with a well-known purity culture object lesson involving a damaged rose. I was inspired by the idea of depicting a red rose in a pristine state (purity) and one that was wilting, dying, and damaged (impurity). This symbolizes the juxtaposition between hurting and healing too.
I pitched these ideas to the design team and the first two rounds were misses. The third round got closer, and I selected a version that looks similar to what we ended up with. I felt the white cover was a little too stark though, so at my suggestion, we added a subtle background which looks like crinkled paper (another purity culture object lesson). The inside of the book also repeats some of the rose and rose petal imagery.
The cover is simple, but I believe it conveys the themes and message of the book: you can heal from purity culture. Growth is possible. You don’t have to stay the damaged and wilting rose you were told you are; you are, and always have been, a beautiful and treasured rose. It’s not an overly artistic cover; I’m not a very artistic person and the words matter much more to me. But as my editor (
) said, this is a bold book and it deserves a bold cover. When I saw the final version of both the cover and the inside layout, I gasped and sprung tears. So I knew my body was telling me, this is it.I’d love to know what you think of the cover and title! Leave a comment or ask me a question here.
Foreword
A foreword is sometimes written as a way for a more established author to “introduce” a first-time author to readers and to show public support for the new author's work.
There was no better person to write my foreword than Sheila Wray Gregoire. She is a pioneer in exposing harmful teachings about sexuality and has been a mentor to me in many ways. Sheila is generous in sharing her platform to point the spotlight on up-and-coming voices and her support has had a positive impact on my work. I'm so honored that her name gets to appear on the cover alongside mine.
Here is an excerpt from Sheila’s foreword:
“The teaching at the heart of purity culture…left a mess in its wake that thousands upon thousands of people now have to figure out how to clean up. That’s what Dr. Camden is going to guide you through in this book. She knows what she’s talking about. She has experienced this bad fruit firsthand, and in her professional capacity she has helped others find healing… And like Dr. Camden, I hope you’ll also emerge knowing that it wasn’t Jesus who was the author of the five purity culture myths that this book is going to deconstruct for you. Those weren’t on him; they’re on purity culture.”
—Sheila Wray Gregoire, founder of Bare Marriage and award- winning author
Endorsements
Ya’ll, asking for endorsements was easily the most intimidating part of this process. I literally asked the people I quoted in the book, people whose work I follow, respect, and have learned so much from.
I was so honored by the response. Almost every endorsement mentioned these words: compassionate, essential guide. If my book lives up to those three descriptors, then I am pleased.
Here’s just a few of the leaders who graciously read and endorsed my book.
“In her debut book, Dr. Camden Morgante provides a refreshing, compassionate, and needed corrective to the harmful teachings of purity culture. This book is an essential resource for those who are working to untangle their faith from the destructive legacy around sexuality and embodiment that has been rampant within Christian spaces.”
—Aundi Kolber, MA, LPC, Therapist, author of Try Softer and Strong like Water
“This is an essential guide for life after purity culture for women who want to deconstruct the myths that hurt them, without leaving behind the faith they love… [T]his book will help the reader more deeply know that their bodies were never the problem, only the stories told about them.”
—Dr. Hillary L. McBride, Registered Psychologist, podcastor, and author of The Wisdom of Your Body and Holy Hurt
“Recovering From Purity Culture by Dr. Camden Morgante is a well written, well researched, and compassionate guide for individuals coming out of purity culture… Dr. Morgante offers her readers many therapeutic skills and tools to get them started on their own journey of recovery without requiring them to take on her own views and opinions. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is ready to recover from the impact that purity culture has had on them.”
—, author of When Religion Hurts You
"Reading Camden Morgante's book gave me renewed hope that the generation who grew up within purity culture could reclaim both their faith and their sexuality… I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a both/and approach to sexuality in a world of either/or answers."
—
, author of Celebrities for Jesus; editorial director of Brazos Press
"Dr. Morgante exposes the dehumanization that both young men and women suffered under the guise of spiritual wisdom, but she doesn't stop there. She untangles the webs of shame and self-hatred that Purity culture myths brought into our lives and then courageously rebuilds a healthy sexual ethic that Christians so desperately need and hunger for…
- Dr. Andrew J. Bauman, Founder of Christian Counseling Center: For Sexual Health & Trauma, Author of Safe Church: How to Guard Against Sexism & Abuse in Christian Communities
Pre-Order Bonuses
I am so passionate about this message that I created even more resources to supplement the book. I poured hours into creating these resources and I think you’ll be thrilled with the value you get (for free!) when you pre-order!
I’ll save the lecture about the importance of pre-ordering for another day :) but here’s a sneak peek of the incredible bonuses you get when you pre-order:
Free audiobook (available on release day), plus the first two chapters of the book now
Finding the Path Forward Together, a discussion guide for groups or personal reflection, including guidelines for leading a trauma-informed group
Tools for the Journey Workbook, a pdf download of all the reflections + exercises in the book, so you have space to journal and write
Mind-Body Guided Meditations, videos of me leading you through the meditations and mindfulness skills in the book
An invitation to join the launch team
I wrote this book for you, my fellow purity culture survivors, to validate, empower, and challenge you along your journey of recovery. In Recovering from Purity Culture, I will help you find the path forward from shame and brokenness to healing and freedom in your faith, sexuality, and relationships.
I hope you’ll pre-order. Let’s find the path forward together.
Love the book cover and title! I think it is fitting for the message your trying to convey.
I want to say "Bravo!" 👏🏻 👏🏻 👏🏻 for completing this project! 😁
The thought of putting my ideas down in print for unknown numbers of people to read and judge is quite terrifying. 😬 (Come to think of it, maybe that's why I struggle so much with blogging for my own website. 🤔😂)