Matt Dillahunty

Full disclosure here: I have been a fan of Seth Andrews and his The Thinking Atheist podcast for quite a while now and that was the reason I bought this book. He's talked about his past before but never in so much detail (unless I've missed a crucial episode or speech or talk or guest appearance) and I have always been curious about his full deconversion story. I'm sure there's even more to it than what's in this book but I am SO glad that I read this.

This book is engaging and easy to read and relate to. It's short, and has short paragraphs, and is actually quite succinct for what it is, despite the fact that Seth is a pretty wordy guy and that still manages to come across in this book.

I had trouble putting this book down and I think that would probably happen even if a believer picked it up to read it. It really is just that interesting and engaging and easy to read. You don't have to be invested from the outset to get engrossed.

I liked the honesty here, as well as the compassion. That's one of the things that I've always liked about Seth, he's honest but he isn't mean and he has an understanding and compassion for people that comes across well when you hear him speak or read his words, and this book was no exception.

I found his deconversion story to be very interesting, though my favorite chapters turned out to be less about the journey to atheism but rather the last couple of chapters where he talks more about atheists and atheism in general as well as his own personal philosophy and ideas about how we treat one another and how we should treat one another and the role of atheism in the public sphere juxtaposed with religion.

Definitely worth the money and the read. Everything I was expecting out of it I got and more.… (mere)