Letting Go of God

By: Julia Sweeney

Narrated by: Julia Sweeney

Length: 2 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

Julia Sweeney says she was a "happy Catholic girl" when, one day, she walked into church and signed up for a Bible-study course. "What an eye opener that was!" she says. "Next thing you know, I was on a quest for something I could really believe in. I traveled to places like Bhutan, Ecuador, and my local Starbucks looking for answers. Would I embrace Buddhism? New Age pseudo-science? Was I a freak for feeling the way I did, or were there other people out there just like me? I was grappling with serious questions. But, somehow, a lot of the things that were happening to me seemed, well, funny."

Equally comedic and insightful, Letting Go of God is Sweeney's brilliant one-woman show about her struggle with her faith. Grappling with the seeming contradictions in Adam and Eve, Noah, the Ten Commandments, and even the teachings of Jesus - and trying to understand the Bible's messages about morality, family values, and human suffering while faced with door-knocking Mormons and wise-cracking priests - Sweeney takes listeners on her very personal journey from God to "not-God".

This performance was recorded on November 19, 2005, at the Ars Nova Theatre in New York City.

Julia Sweeney was a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1989-94, and is best known for the mysteriously androgynous character, "It's Pat!". She has also served as a consulting producer on Sex and the City and Desperate Housewives. Letting Go of God is her third monologue. She performed her first, God Said, "Ha!", in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and on Broadway, as well as in a film produced by Quentin Tarantino. The CD version was nominated for a Grammy.

There's lots more Julia Sweeney available at Audible®! Just click here to download In the Family Way, her appearances on This American Life, her Un-Cabaret performances, and other great programs.

©2006 Julia Sweeney (P)2006 Julia Sweeney

Critic reviews

"Searing and bracingly funny....Letting Go of God is refreshingly unrancorous, lucid and, yes, inspirational." (The New York Times)
"Letting Go of God is a gale-force breath of fresh air into the mostly political dialogue about religion in our time." (Los Angeles Times)

Highly Recommend

I laughed, I cried. Her journey reflects my own in many ways. This is a good short listen for anyone who has gone through the realization that they are incompatible with the belief in God.

Amazing

Humorous but so true. It makes me think of all the crap I heard when I deconverted. Julia you are so lucky that your parents finally decided they loved you enough to deal with it.

Brilliant, charming -- sheer genius

Letting Go Of God covers all the bases: the journey from childhood religious indoctrination to freethinking adulthood, the contradictions in the Bible, the silliness of New Age thinking as a substitute for reason, the prejudice against atheists, and, most of all, shows that you can be a good, kind, loving person without God (indeed, it's hard not to be totally in love with Sweeney by the end). It never sneers, never uses condescension, and never once tells anyone else what to think -- it trust that the members of the audience can find their own way. A tour de force; I recommend it highly and wholeheartedly.

Julia Sweeney isn't "Strident".

For the many believers who avoid reasoned, if undiplomatic, arguments assailing their religion by attacking the messengers, Julia Sweeney is the answer. Julia offered nothing that further shored up my disdain for religion - I didn't need it. The older I get, the more ridiculous religion seems to me. What is clear, however, is how many believers disregard the arguments of Dawkins, Hitchens, and Harris by whining about how abrasive these fellows are. And they are abrasive - who can blame them? But let's not go there - because Julia Sweeney does not go there. Where she takes us is on a delightful, heartfelt personal journey during which she finally concludes that she can no longer believe in the unbelievable. She's funny. She's sincere. And best of all, she's right.

Very Amusing

Julia has a wonderful way with words. She was very accurate in her description of Mormon missionaries (I grew up LDS) and her story of her parents reaction to her Atheist "coming out" reminds me very much of my own experience being a non-believer in the heart of "Zion". I definitely encourage any Agnostic, Humanist, Atheist or open minded believer to listen to this

Let Go and Listen

Raised an atheist, I have sometimes found the voices of atheists can be loud, uneducated and dare I say intolerant. This book will not change your views, but it will challenge you to examine them. Humor and personal anecdotes can be the best way to express one's views. Ms. Sweeney is honest and funny! What a great combination.

Smart and Funny

A refreshing, smartly comedic commentary on daring to take a realistic look at inherited belief systems. Two thumbs way up!

Brilliant story of one person's spiritual journey

I don't agree with Sweeney's conclusions but that didn't stop me from absolutely enjoying every minute of the story of her evolving relationship with religion, spirituality, and God.

Very Funny and insightful.

This is one of my favorite audible "books". I love Julia Sweeney's delivery! I have listened to this and her other books several times and they are always entertaining.

Food for Thought

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

We don't all "struggle" with this subject. In fact, much like Julia, many of us find the mere thought of considering these thoughts out of the question. I would recommend this to someone who is questioning. I would never want to try and change someone's perception of God, but for someone who has questions for themselves, I would definitely recommend this because she leads the reader/listener through a very thoughtful, intelligent journey.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Julia IS the character in this book. I love her because she is so completely honest about her journey, her struggles, the fact that she often made course corrections. This was NOT a book about any new discovery. It was a book about one person's journey to discovering a truth that was right for her, but not after leaving no stone un turned.

Which scene was your favorite?

Every time Julia came to what she felt like was a final discovery and then considered another way of thinking of things.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Mysterious Ways