When We Were on Fire, Addie Zierman
When We Were on Fire, Addie Zierman
List: $29.99 | Sale: $21.00
Club: $14.99

When We Were on Fire
A Memoir of Consuming Faith, Tangled Love, and Starting Over

Author: Addie Zierman

Narrator: Jaimee Draper

Unabridged: 8 hr 1 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Oasis Audio

Published: 04/15/2016

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

In the strange us-versus-them world of the '90s Christian subculture, your faith was measured by how many WWJD bracelets you wore and whether or not you’d “kissed dating goodbye.”
 Evangelical poster-child Addie Zierman wore three WWJD bracelets, led two Bible studies, and listened exclusively to Christian rock. She was “on fire for God,” unaware that the flame of her faith was dwindling until it burned entirely out.
 With candor and transparency, Addie chronicles her journey through church culture, first love, and her entrance — unprepared and angry — into marriage. When she washes out of church and nearly her marriage on a sea of tequila and depression, she isn’t sure if she’ll ever go back.
 When We Were on Fire is a funny, heartbreaking story of untangling oneself from cliché in search of a faith worth embracing. It’s a story for anyone who has ever felt alone in a crowded church. For the cynic. The doubter. The former Jesus freak struggling with the complexity of life. It’s a story about the slow work of returning to love, Jesus, and (perhaps toughest of all) His imperfect followers. And in the end, it’s about what lasts when nothing else seems worth keeping.

About The Author

Addie Zierman is a writer, blogger, and recovering Jesus freak. She studied creative nonfiction at Hamline University and received her MFA there in 2010. Addie blogs regularly at AddieZierman.com, where she’s working to redefine her faith one cliché at a time. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband, Andrew, and their two sons.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Leah on November 28, 2013

This book was a revelation. And I say that in the true sense of the word. Where do I begin? First of all, it was scary. The similarities were so freaky, I could barely stop myself from yelling out loud while I was reading it. And I kind of want to read it again, to take notes or something. I'm glad......more

Goodreads review by Anne on September 03, 2013

I might come back and give this one 5 stars, but I want to sit with it for a little longer before I do that. I only give 5 stars to excellent books that are life-changing, and this just might be one of them. What I loved: I know the author through her blog, but this is not a blogger's book. It is a t......more

Goodreads review by Ginger on March 27, 2014

Well, here's the thing. I didn't really love this book. But then again, I read it in a span of less than 10 hours (and that included going to Chick-fil-a and Wednesday night prayer meeting in between; how's that for irony?)... First of all, let me get out of the way the things I didn't like: 1. the la......more

Goodreads review by Andi on April 13, 2015

At some moments as I read Zierman's words, I felt myself go rigid - YES, YES, that's exactly how I felt, I thought. As someone who is recovering from many of the wounds of her evangelical upbringing, this book gave me hope and perspective and a reminder that grace is extended to all. . . A great rea......more

Goodreads review by L.K. on November 22, 2019

Addie Zierman's memoir piqued my curiosity because lately I've heard people talk about a "Millennial migration" away from church-going. Millennials aren't the first generation to stumble over church culture. I know plenty of Gen Xers and Baby Boomers who consider themselves spiritual but want nothin......more