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)

A fun narration of a trip toward atheism

This is a one-woman monologue of a trip toward atheism. It's marvelously funny and worth downloading even if you're not interested in the subject matter per se. I myself believe in God and wasn't swayed in the least by her story/argument, so don't be afraid to listen to this if you're a believer. It will give you insight into how the other side thinks. If you're a secular humanist or skeptic, you'll love it!

a great spring board for additional discussion.

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed learning Julia's story and hearing how she has searched and thought out a spiritual foundation for herself. She asked many of the same questions, struggled with the same text, attitudes and dogma I did while attending seminary. I have great respect for Julia, because her beliefs are her own based on her own prayer, meditation, study and search, and not that of a closed minded faith that was handed to her without her own participation. I found this book to be smart, fresh and thoughful. Blessing to you Julia on your continued search.

Never look under the hood

A few years back someone challenged me to take a look at religion again because I wasn't declaring a faith or lack of one. They didn't like some of the things I was pointing out in the bible. It also led me to look into the Koran. Julia goes through the points throughout her life that led her to let go of God. This is a very similar journey many others have taken. If you want to learn about some of the hidden facts of religion this is for you.

Was a perfect book, for an imperfect time...

Sitting, on the freeway, for over 90 minutes waiting for an accident to clear. I had just finished listening to a book, and while scrolling through my library, this caught my eye. I was laughing, nodding my head, enjoying every moment of Julia's book. She takes a very complex and personal conversation and shares, for which I will always be thankful.

Laugh out loud funny, intelligent and profound.

Every person should listen to this audio book especially Christians of all denominations and sects. Every person who believes in a deity called God and those who don't. This audio book will make you think and reason and at the same time cause you to burst out laughing again and again.

Amazing

It is amazing the way Julia Sweeney narrates her deconvertion story. I can relate very well because it was so similar to my own story although not from Catholicism but from the Seventh-Day Adventist dogma. I am so free from the slavery of religion today!!!

Humourous account of a great journey

Julia Sweeney shares the account of her search for meaning, religion and spirituality. She puts into words what many of us must have been thinking about for a long time. Humourous and well researched. She shares some very personal and profound thoughts. Highly recommended, a good companion recording to Richard Dawkins' "The God Delusion", though Dawkins does a better job at explaning Darwin's insights, however that is only a minor point in the grand scheme of things.

Funny but true

Julia is halarious and it's hard not to agree with her arguments. She asks the questions that most people growing up Catholic only thought about but were afraid to ask out loud.

Julia didn't let go of God without a fight. She has done her research and is well informed in a variety of fields. In this performance she tells us about her personal struggle with religion, and demonstrates how her doubt and research have led her to where she is today. And she does this all in a very entertaining way.

If you struggle with religion, and especially Catholicism, you will enjoy this. If you are on the other side, you may find it troublesome, although she is not disrespectful at all.

It takes guts to do what she has done and she deserves kudos for her bravery.

Entertaining and Thought Provoking

As a former believing Mormon, I could not stop listening to Julia's story. I went through the SAME journey and came to her same conclusions. She is surprisingly well read and has a genuine quest for truth. I really admire her intellectual honesty with herself. I can tell you first hand that her telling of the story from her visit with the Mormon missionaries is spot-on what you would hear from any Mormon missionary, other than the part about Joseph Smith putting his face in a hat to translate the Golden Plates. The church hides that little nugget and 95% of missionaries are not aware of that being in the historical record. She keeps your attention throughout the journey. She often will discuss something deeply thought provoking and then say something extremely funny right after so as to not get too serious. She has truly mastered story-telling skills. I have heard this type of story many times before, but never so entertaining and thought provoking. I listen to this over and over again. It does not get old.

Great performance

This was entertaining and insightful. Julia was honest, warm, and heartfelt in her personal memoirs. I loved listening to it.