Fleeing Oz

When you look around and realize that the people filling the pews in your church represent traits you find reprehensible, you can do two things. You can keep your head down and become like them. Or you can follow author Eleanor L. Tomczyk's example, reexamine everything you believe, and write a hilarious memoir about losing your religion.

And that's precisely what she does. Fleeing Oz chronicles Tomczyk's journey from a wide-eyed, eager believer to a battered but not beaten refugee of the culture wars.

From her early days as an African American girl living on a cultlike communal farm with a bunch of white kids, to her final escape from organized religion right before Barack Obama's election in 2008, Tomczyk tells her story with grace. Far from cruel or mocking, Tomczyk resists the temptation to do unto others as they have done unto her, choosing instead to use humor where others might use hate.

An edgy coming-of-age tale about a baby boomer who wants to follow God without getting crushed by God's people in the process, Fleeing Oz will cause anyone who's ever struggled with faith, doubt, and disillusionment to stand up and say "amen."