Yancey is a favorite author of mine, but I haven’t read Soul Survivor and thus had no idea about his background. I never would have guessed that he grew up impoverished, frequenting fundamentalist Baptist churches in the heart of the KKK south. This memoir is primarily about his childhood and formational years as a young adult. He witnessed, suffered, and actively participated in much abuse; yet against all odds and even his own will, he experienced glimpses of the divine.

TW: violent racism, child abuse, animal abuse, verbal abuse, spiritual abuse, suicide ideation, self harm