Erica Bailey

And that moment is really when I started to feel like I had to really voice those questions and concerns. And I had to start saying, actually, I don't think I agree with what they just told my sister after her daughter passed. I don't actually agree with maybe these other stances that are more about how we treat other people. Maybe it's okay to have friends who are not part of the group.

And that moment is really when I started to feel like I had to really voice those questions and concerns. And I had to start saying, actually, I don't think I agree with what they just told my sister after her daughter passed. I don't actually agree with maybe these other stances that are more about how we treat other people. Maybe it's okay to have friends who are not part of the group.

Maybe it's okay to think differently about the world and the purpose of life and how people outside the group should be valued and appreciated. That moment was fairly dramatic and things kind of happened quickly after that. I started to voice my unhappiness with the way the situation was handled, with the way we were treated.

Maybe it's okay to think differently about the world and the purpose of life and how people outside the group should be valued and appreciated. That moment was fairly dramatic and things kind of happened quickly after that. I started to voice my unhappiness with the way the situation was handled, with the way we were treated.

Maybe it's okay to think differently about the world and the purpose of life and how people outside the group should be valued and appreciated. That moment was fairly dramatic and things kind of happened quickly after that. I started to voice my unhappiness with the way the situation was handled, with the way we were treated.

And that also kind of brought up all these feelings I'd been holding in about things I disagreed with policy-wise, things I disagreed with, the way we even talked about other people of similar religious faiths. It was sort of a cascading experience that just really snowballed really quickly from that point.

And that also kind of brought up all these feelings I'd been holding in about things I disagreed with policy-wise, things I disagreed with, the way we even talked about other people of similar religious faiths. It was sort of a cascading experience that just really snowballed really quickly from that point.

And that also kind of brought up all these feelings I'd been holding in about things I disagreed with policy-wise, things I disagreed with, the way we even talked about other people of similar religious faiths. It was sort of a cascading experience that just really snowballed really quickly from that point.

Yeah, it was, you know, these rules about church attendance and things like that, they're never formalized. They weren't written down anywhere. But of course, we had really deeply believed them. I had internalized them. And one morning, I just decided I don't want to go to Sunday service. I want to hang out with a non-religious person. I want to just go to a movie and have a bowl of popcorn.

Yeah, it was, you know, these rules about church attendance and things like that, they're never formalized. They weren't written down anywhere. But of course, we had really deeply believed them. I had internalized them. And one morning, I just decided I don't want to go to Sunday service. I want to hang out with a non-religious person. I want to just go to a movie and have a bowl of popcorn.

Yeah, it was, you know, these rules about church attendance and things like that, they're never formalized. They weren't written down anywhere. But of course, we had really deeply believed them. I had internalized them. And one morning, I just decided I don't want to go to Sunday service. I want to hang out with a non-religious person. I want to just go to a movie and have a bowl of popcorn.

You know, I'm 20 years old. And... That felt like very small. I'm sure, you know, no one in the movie theater would have thought I was doing anything brave. But to me, it was a first step towards reclaiming my autonomy and realizing that, you know, maybe it's okay to have the desire to go see a movie and to just follow that desire.

You know, I'm 20 years old. And... That felt like very small. I'm sure, you know, no one in the movie theater would have thought I was doing anything brave. But to me, it was a first step towards reclaiming my autonomy and realizing that, you know, maybe it's okay to have the desire to go see a movie and to just follow that desire.

You know, I'm 20 years old. And... That felt like very small. I'm sure, you know, no one in the movie theater would have thought I was doing anything brave. But to me, it was a first step towards reclaiming my autonomy and realizing that, you know, maybe it's okay to have the desire to go see a movie and to just follow that desire.

Yeah. So they were not a fan of what I was doing. They were not a fan of the things I was saying. The way that that was communicated was in a couple of one-on-one meetings and then the people really closest to me trying to implore me to sort of step back, to change my behavior, to sort of come back into the fold.

Yeah. So they were not a fan of what I was doing. They were not a fan of the things I was saying. The way that that was communicated was in a couple of one-on-one meetings and then the people really closest to me trying to implore me to sort of step back, to change my behavior, to sort of come back into the fold.

Yeah. So they were not a fan of what I was doing. They were not a fan of the things I was saying. The way that that was communicated was in a couple of one-on-one meetings and then the people really closest to me trying to implore me to sort of step back, to change my behavior, to sort of come back into the fold.

At that point, I felt that that had been so severed that it almost felt like I couldn't come back. It felt like I was living in a totally different reality now from these people. And I couldn't sit in the same rooms that I was in before. So

At that point, I felt that that had been so severed that it almost felt like I couldn't come back. It felt like I was living in a totally different reality now from these people. And I couldn't sit in the same rooms that I was in before. So

At that point, I felt that that had been so severed that it almost felt like I couldn't come back. It felt like I was living in a totally different reality now from these people. And I couldn't sit in the same rooms that I was in before. So