Jeri Massi

A Standard Christian Jeri Massi

An often comical story of coming of age after Fundamentalism: The daughter of the adulterous and egocentric Evangelist. George Jovian, and a graduate of the strict and repressive Greater Independent Baptist College, Grace Jovian is determined to strike out on her own. Grace, a conscientious and yet cynical Christian young woman, has been shocked and haunted by the revelations that her evangelist father has had multiple affairs. The secret corruption of Christian Fundamentalism has sent her searching for true religion. But Grace hasn't plumbed the depths of depravity hidden behind the pulpits of the Independent Baptists. In a story that is often comic and often stark with the realities of coming to terms with life outside of her religion's insularity and secrecy, Grace encounters kind friends everywhere: a courteous and warm hearted rationalist who makes her his protege, a former actress now living in obscurity who rescues her from danger, an African American Christian who gently reveals to her the decades of racism in Fundamentalism. But she also encounters the dangers of a young woman living alone, including a church deacon who stalks her, and a pastor who dismisses her pleas for help. Grace's many adventures are sometimes colored by her anger, but never by bitterness. And on her journey she discovers that she is not the weak and helpless female that she has been told she is. Instead, she is smart, professional, and full of determination to be a decent person. But Grace comes up against the darkest secrets of her upbringing in Christian Fundamentalism, and she has to decide if Jesus really is there to lead her safely and guide her to just and right choices among church leaders who want her to remain silent.