Jen Hatmaker has never been shy about hard conversations, and her new memoir“Awake”might be her most personal one yet. Released Sept. 23, the book walks through the July 2020 night she discovered her then-husband Brandon’s affair, the divorce that followed, and her decision to step away from church life entirely. She names the systems she believes contributed: patriarchy, purity culture, and misogyny, while also acknowledging her own complicity in them.
The most-quoted line from her interviews so far?“I’m still a big fan of Jesus, but I guess I don’t like many of his folks.”She’s clear that her exit wasn’t about losing faith. It was about the exhaustion of navigating church culture while healing from a public divorce, especially the pity she felt from others after pandemic reopenings. Her ex-husband responded with a lengthy Substack post taking ownership of the affair while disputing some of her account.
Hatmaker hasn’t fully closed the door on returning to church someday. She also became a grandmother in August 2025, which adds a whole new chapter to her story. What do you think: is it possible to hold onto faith while walking away from organized religion?
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Local Lawton
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