Not That Wheel, Jesus! - by Mary Katherine Backstrom (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

From the bestselling author of Holy Hot Mess, a laugh-out-loud look at what happens when life goes a direction we didn't expect and we are forced to reconsider the beliefs, assumptions, and stories that have always steered our course.

Mary Katherine Backstrom grew up the most basic of all youth group kids--pH level 14--and her faith only grew as she led youth ministry, served as a missionary, and went on to become a bestselling Christian author. She knew all the practiced, perfect Sunday school answers and was driving happily down the straight and narrow, until one day her young son asked a simple question: will my Jewish best friend go to hell?

In the months and years that followed, that single question continued to snowball. MK challenged and reconsidered every part of the faith she'd been raised to accept so completely. Not That Wheel, Jesus! is Mary Katherine's hilarious journey from certainty to doubt to going nuclear on the socials ("it was my heresy era"), and then of slowly and painfully finding her way back to a different, less defined faith.

It's the heartfelt and achingly honest story of a spirituality that went off the road and crashed and burned in spectacular fashion, right before God and everybody. And then, slowly, through grace and plenty of therapy, grew richer and deeper than she ever could have imagined.

Review Quotes

"Backstrom (Holy Hot Mess) brings her irreverent humor to this candid, freewheeling account of deconstructing her faith and slowly building it back up... Christians seeking respite from strict spiritual absolutes will find comfort here."
--Publishers Weekly

"MK's best book yet! Not That Wheel Jesus is for every wandering soul who was once too scared to doubt, too ashamed to be authentic or too heartbroken to try and believe again. Hilarious and heartfelt, these pages are relatable. For the doubter, the believer and everyone in between, this book is for all of us."
---April Ajoy, author of Star-Spangled Jesus

About the Author

Mary Katherine Backstrom is best known for her viral videos and candid writing on family, faith, and mental health. She has been featured on Today Show, CNN, and New York Times--but her friends and family are most impressed with her one-time appearance on Ellen. MK resides in Alabama with her children and two stinky dogs. When she isn't writing, MK can be found in the woods, hiding from the all the world's problems.