Schaeffer (Portofino) shares his personal responses and reactions to his mostly unsupervised upbringing in L'Abri, an idealistic, isolated, intellectual Christian community in Switzerland. This community initially hosted collegians, but with the Sixties and all that came with it, it grew to include people of international significance. Young Schaeffer mixed with them all, despite feeling trapped and rebellious. At times, he was haunted by the thought that he should have pursued his early career success in painting. Nevertheless, and despite his lack of education, Schaeffer became an able speaker and successfully produced Christian films and wrote numerous books. In a reaction that did not come as a surprise, he completely broke from all his avenues of evangelical Christian fame to struggle in the secular world, at one point shoplifting so that he could eat. His attempts in secular film (e.g., Baby on Board, with Judge Reinhold) failed, but he has found some success as a best-selling secular author. This is not just a book about rejecting Christian evangelicalism. It has parallels in secular culture and is an honest read about family life and its challenges. Suitable and recommended for large libraries.
George Westerlund
Interesting glimpses into the burgeoning religious right folded into a deeply personal memoir. After World War II, Schaeffer's evangelical parents founded a mission in Switzerland called L'Abri, where he grew up. A large portion of the narrative is dedicated to those years and his conflicting memories of them. At times the author describes his father as a moody, even abusive man; at other points he speaks of him with great respect and love. He depicts his mother as a juggernaut who wore her piety on her sleeve and indoctrinated the children, yet his devotion to this "sexy saint" borders on oedipal. Likewise, he alternately paints his youth as an idyllic utopia and a period of boiling frustrations. At all times, however, Schaeffer is brutally honest. Pot-smoking, group masturbation, running away from boarding school, even the tricks he played on a mentally handicapped woman who lived at L'Abri-each unflattering incident is related in vivid detail. During the author's young-adult years, his parents became quite well known, and he was solicited to work with his father on the 1974 evangelical documentary series How Then Should We Live? Schaeffer encountered many figures in the increasingly public and political evangelical movement; he offers particularly eye-opening accounts of his personal encounters with the likes of Pat Robertson, James Dobson et al. He became convinced that he did not fit into the evangelical mold and in fact had simply been living and speaking about matters in which he had been steeped since birth but basically never truly believed. His break from the movement and what followed in his life comprise the final chapters. Candid, sometimes angry and clearly cathartic for theauthor. Agent: Jennifer Lyons/Writers House LLC
American Author’s Association website, December 2008
“A story that needed to be told…A very personal and brutally honest memoir, that opens up and exposes the underbelly of the evangelistic movement…Gives the reader a rare and different look at some of various leaders of the fundamentalist moment...The book may open some eyes and minds about the dangers of politics and religion…A must read book for serious seekers looking for their own authentic path to enlightenment, or at least some inner peace.”
De-conversion.com, 12/2/08
“A must read for the de-converting…It is brutally honest, eye-opening, at times laugh out loud funny, and heart breaking.”
Princeton Packet, 2/13/09
“Mr. Schaeffer knows what he’s talking about. He was there, and his book lays it all out, chapter and verse.”
TCM Reviews
“[A] moving memoir…For those interested in a different perspective on Francis and Edith Schaeffer, l'Abri, and the fundamentalist right-wing evangelical movement, as well as the touching story of someone deeply involved in it all, this is a must-read.”
Augusta Metro Spirit, 4/15/09
“In a witty recollection that takes a different path from the average evangelical story, Frank Schaeffer offers an intimate portrait of a life within and without the spotlight of mass congregations…Schaeffer is more than qualified to offer candid commentary concerning the religious right in these United States…Written with an intricate collection of detail, a smooth ability to turn elements of conflict into startling moments of realization, and a wonderful search for meaning.”
Tallahassee Democrat, 7/25/09
“Part memoir, part biography, and part expose of a fundamentalist moment in U.S. religion and culture. As memoir it is at times funny, at times moving. As biography it provides an interesting, not to say intimate, perspective on Francis and Edith Schaeffer. As expose it provides revealing glimpses into the emergence of the religious right and some of its most visible leaders.”
Evangelical Studies Bulletin, Spring 2008
“[A] breezy new autobiographical book…The inner story of young Frank(y)’s childhood, adolescence, meteoric phase as up-and-coming evangelical political activist, and subsequent career keep the pages turning…[An] entertaining and provocative read.”
Semi-Autonomous Collective blog, 12/27/09
“Aggravating at times, frustrating by moments, but overall terribly touching, Schaeffer isn’t hiding any flaws from the picture he paints of his own family. If there is one book to understand where the religious right comes from, it’s that one.”
Springfield News-Leader, 8/22/12
“Excellent resources for anyone interested in the strange history of the heretical anti-abortion doctrine being taught in American churches today for the purpose of garnering political support.”