On Fire for God

“[A] searing memoir … As topical as it can get, the book fearlessly confronts many of the cultural and political issues raging in America today, while remaining — to its credit — a distinctly personal and intimate account.”—Washington Independent Review of Books

“I was relieved to see my conservative neighbors and kin treated with empathy and not shrunken into caricatures… . The combination of vivid storytelling … and research conveyed conversationally makes this social-commentary-memoir hit particularly hard.”—Little Village

“Hesse writes about returning to his Iowa hometown in search of an explanation about the trajectory of his own life and to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between fundamentalist Christianity, economic precarity, and right-wing politics.”—Lit Hub

“Hesse is a wonderful writer, who narrates his own life with wit, intelligence, and sophistication, making what could have been an almost unbearable story something exceptional. Of all the books I’ve read about young people devastated by the fundamentalist religion they’ve grown up with, this one stands out.”­— Frances FitzGerald, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Evangelicals: The Struggle to Shape America

“On Fire for God is both a survival story and a cultural history, charting how the rise of Christian fundamentalism ignited a culture war that bound church to state. With vivid storytelling, Hesse shows how leaders exploited parents’ deepest desires, ensnared a generation, and reshaped America’s political landscape.”—Stephanie Warren, The Strong-Willed Child and host of Focus on Your Own Family

“Hesse brings a sharp cultural eye and serious journalistic chops to the telling of his heart-breaking personal story. He logs decades of political, corporate, and religious exploitation of rural communities like his own, and reveals the poverty, isolation, trauma, and aggression it breeds. Brutal, punishing, and profound.”­—Linda Kay Klein, author of Pure

“There is no book in print that I know of with the exception of Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale that so completely captures the utter depravity of the Charismatic and Pentecostal movements’ impact on ordinary Americans. But the Republic of Gilead that Atwood invented is nothing compared to the brutal reality Hesse exposes. We are living in a world shaped by voters who are themselves shaped by the apocalyptic theology and culture he lived through and documents, chapter and verse.”— Frank Schaeffer, author of Crazy for God

“Hesse unpacks the history of the right-wing Evangelicalism that shaped his childhood and condemns the impact that relentless anxiety about a religious apocalypse has on a child.”—Commonweal

“Eye-opening… . Evocative… . Readers who’ve wrestled with their faith or finding home will find this inspiring.”—Publishers Weekly

“Might be thought of as the antidote to J.D. Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy… . Worthy of attention for its personal view of an ‘American theocracy’ in the making.”—Kirkus

“An introspective memoir of a religious life. Recommended for readers interested in the impact of the religious right.”—Library Journal

Josiah Hesse, author of Runner’s High and the Carnality series, is a freelance journalist out of Denver, Colorado, covering everything from politics, science, and crime, to art, pop culture, and evangelical culture and theology. A regular contributor to The Guardian and Vice, his work has appeared in Esquire, Newsweek, Men’s Health, and Politico, among other publications.

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