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)

Definitely down load this...

This has been my favourite audio book. Julia delivers it like a stand up routine, with thoughtful moments that are inspiring. I never knew of her work before I happened upon this, and will now look into everything else she has done. Its really fun, intelligent and humble.
Fantastic.

Wonderful and witty, a great fun...

It's a fun performance, I love her performance, even as a Revisionist Christian, I can appreciate her sense of humour. It's good to know that someone can amuse people using a subject that generated so much hatred, conflict and debate. Brilliant.

Serious Topic-Light Approach

I first "met" Julia Sweeney on SNL where she played a range of characters from the androgenous "PAT" to ingenues to Mom-characters. After her bout with cancer, she published "God Said Ha!" which was a funny, touching account of her battle and with the death of her brother. I expected that her cancer experience would be related in this book which is a surprisingly circumspect account of her faith-related decisions. Although I am certain that it played into her views toward God, I was a bit sad that she did not share that aspect with us.

Julia never disappoints. Her sense of humor remains wry, and whether or not you agree with her decisions, she provides enough background that you can respect them.

Wonderful, funny, rational

I really enjoyed Ms. Sweeney's sharing of her journey from faith to reason with her characteristic warmth and wit.

Interesting and informative

Absolutely the best audiobook I have purchased on Audible. Informative, interesting and, most of all, funny and well told. I consider myself fairly well read with respect to religious traditions (western ones anyway), but there was much in this book that was new to me - especially some of the often ignored, yet disturbing, aspects of stories in the bible.

Great

Julia brings a smile to my face and makes me think at the same time!

Download This!

I knew who Pat was but never watched SNL, so I was first introduced to Julia Sweenie when I rented "And God Said Ha!" because it was produced by Tarrantino. Although not a typical Tarrantino production, I loved it just the same so downloading this was an easy decision.

Julia Sweenie is a fantastic storyteller, and has true talent for expressing the humor inherent in life.

Highly recommended.

Hysterical, yet touching!

Being a former SNL fan, I had to listen. Julia leads you through her religious self discovery with an amazing wit, pointing out the ironies of organized religion from her personal perspective. I have enjoyed it over a dozen times since I downloaded it.

Everyone Should Listen to This!

Listen to it and then tell all your friends and family to listen to it!

Pleasure and fun!

What a great book! I recommended for believers and unbelievers and those in between.