Holy Disobedience is a gripping, unflinching story by Melissa Duge Spiers about growing up in the shadow of control, silence, and secrets within the strict, fundamentalist Seventh-day Adventist Church. When Melissa learns that a family member, a respected pastor, was a serial child predator shielded by the church, her world implodes. But this revelation is only the beginning.
From being beaten for resisting a childhood home perm to seducing a forbidden public-school athlete to reclaim her autonomy, Melissa's early years were shaped by repression, shame, and indoctrination. Her escape from high-control religion launched her into a life of risk--Wall Street jobs, New York nightclubs, and Hollywood hookups. And yet, in these extremes, she was searching. Through self-reflection and finding her voice, and through an unexpected friendship with her family member's first victim, Melissa slowly reconstructs the self she was never allowed to know.
Holy Disobedience is not just a survivor's tale. It's a story of fierce honesty, radical freedom, and the beautiful mess of becoming whole.