Straight to Hell: Memoir of an Ex-Evangelical Pastor Paperback – June 29, 2025

★ Gold Medal Winner - 2026 Illumination Book AwardsHe didn't lose his faith.He sacrificed the truth to keep it.John Wilson built his life on obedience.Raised in the rural Deep South-poor and abused-he found refuge in a fire-and-brimstone Pentecostal church. There, safety meant conformity. Identity was something to discipline. Desire was something to overcome.So he did exactly what he was taught to do.He became a pastor-preaching a truth that wasn't true.A husband-building a life on a promise that broke them both.A father-determined to stay, no matter the cost.And buried the part of himself his faith condemned, but couldn't erase.For years, it worked.When the truth finally surfaced, it didn't just threaten his faith-it destroyed everything built on top of it.What followed wasn't a fall from grace.It was a psychological unraveling.And the question that remained was more dangerous than doubt: What if the thing that saved you... was also the thing that cost you your life?Straight to Hell is a memoir of faith, identity, and the cost of choosing belief over truth.For readers of Boy Erased and Educated.Now a clinical psychologist, Dr. John Wilson returns to the ruins to make meaning of what was lost-and to help others reclaim what was taken.Includes a discussion guide for book clubs and personal reflection. Read more