Buy my book, 'HELL IS A WORLD WITHOUT YOU'

The exvangelical novel has great reviews AND raised $50K for LGBTQ charity.

Hello, sports journalist and religion podcaster Jason Kirk here. My coming-of-age novel — Hell Is a World Without You — is good, according to a bunch of reviews cited below.

A best-seller on USA Today’s booklist, Bookshop.org, IndieReader, and a handful of Amazon lists, it enabled me to donate over $50,000 to LGBTQ charity the Trevor Project.

Rarely has an Evangelical upbringing been depicted with the relentless honesty, wide-ranging empathy, and Superbad-meets-Siddhartha playfulness of HELL IS A WORLD WITHOUT YOU. During the time of Pizza Hut buffets, 9/11, and all-night Mario Kart parties, a grieving teenager faces a mortal crossroads: fire-and-brimstone certainty vs. forbidden love. And whether or not you’ve ever begged God to delay the Rapture (so you could have time to lose your virginity), that kid’s story is about you.

• The book is available everywhere paperbacks, ebooks, hardcovers, and audiobooks are sold (Amazon, Apple, Book Shop, Audible, Spotify, your library, and so forth).

• The ANNOTATED STUDY BIBLE ebook, with 160 pages of bonus stuff (including a post-apocalyptic girl-gang novella), is exclusive to Shutdown Fullbooks.

If you’d like to talk about getting a review copy, doing an interview, or hosting an event (see below for many examples of each), holler: jasonkirkbook at g mail dot com.

Hell Is a World Without You praise:

• “Meticulous. Sublime. Hilarious. Endearing. Get it.” — Kirkus Reviews

• “Brutal honesty. Laugh-out-loud. Poignant.” — Publishers Weekly

• “Shines with sass and sympathy.” — Sojourners, Best Faith and Justice Books of the Century list

• “One of the year’s best and funniest books.” — Polygon, Best Audiobooks list

• “Joyous. Taboo-shirking. Searing. Wonderful.” — Independent Book Review, Starred review

• “A miracle. Makes an insular culture universal.” — Book and Film Globe

• “Painfully, beautifully true.” — Columbia Daily Tribune

• “Authentic. Fascinating. Resonates.” — Religion Dispatches

• “Incisive, profoundly empathetic, and hilarious.” — Good Faith Media

• “Opened my eyes to religious baggage I didn’t realize I was still carrying.” — Books Are Our Superpower

• “Among the best books in the program.” — Indie Author Project, Select status

• “Compassionate. Bitingly funny.” — Readers’ Favorite, five-star review

• One of Goodreads voters’ 100 Best Books of 2024

• “Like reading my own teenage Evangelical diary. Hilarious.” — April Ajoy, Star-Spangled Jesus

• “Will make you laugh, cry, think, and maybe listen to MxPx.”  — Dr. Mike Altman, Religious Studies, University of Alabama

• “Extraordinary. A case for a better world.” “Jason writes his ass off.”  — Holly Anderson and Spencer Hall, Channel Six

• “Almost astonishingly accurate. Unshakably critical, unshakably empathetic.” — Jon Bois, 17776

• “I laughed so hard, but also cried ugly tears.” — Matt Brown, Extra Points

• “Funny, infuriating, and tender.”  — Jay Busbee, Earnhardt Nation

• “Too real. Cathartic.” — Blake Chastain, Exvangelical and Beyond

• “No book has better depicted Evangelical terror.” — Jane Coaston, CNN

• “Divinely savage, emotionally pure, devilishly funny. I absolutely adored it.” — Brian Dannelly, Saved! and Queer as Folk

• “Surprisingly relatable. Read it.” — Trey Ferguson, Theologizin’ Bigger

• “Absolutely slaps, whether you were Evangelical or not.” — Dr. Jonathan Beecher Field, English, University of Clemson

• “So good that I had to walk around while reading it.” — Tony Ginocchio, Grift of the Holy Spirit

• “I loved this book. It’s painful, thoughtful and has a ton of soul.” — Mike Golic, Jr., national sports broadcaster

• “I’m thankful this book exists!” “Shifts the paradigm.” — Casey Haas and Matthew Pierce, Fun Sexy Bible Time

• “With his hilarious, heartbreaking, and compassionate novel, Jason has created a fellowship.”— Bill Hanstock, We Promised You a Great Main Event

• “Excellent. Humanizes church kids.” — Scott Hines, Action Cookbook

• “Unsparing but tender. I loved it.” — Tyler Huckabee, Sojourners

• “It’s excellent, I love it, and I hope you will too.” “So fucking powerful.” — Andrew Klema and Dani Burford, Lit Lit

• “Barely distinguishable from my own upbringing.” — Dan Koch, You Have Permission

• “So evocative.” — Bonnie Kristian, Christianity Today

• “I moved between laughing and crying so many times.” — Zach W. Lambert, Better Ways to Read the Bible

• “Great read. Not antagonistic toward Christianity, but has lots of rightful challenges.” — Dave Lester, Veterans of Culture Wars

• “Ripped me apart and put me back together.” — Literary Transgressions, Year in Reading awards

• “Funny, but also compassionate, romantic, and optimistic. Whoever you are, you’ll find yourself in it.” — Will Leitch, How Lucky 

• “Uncanny. I got severely weepy.” — Jeb Lund, national columnist

• “Enthralling. Hilarious yet biting portrait of extreme religiosity.” — Zito Madu, The Minotaur at Calle Lanza

• “Genuinely funny. Painfully accurate depiction of a pious world.” — Drew Magary, The Night the Lights Went Out

• “Comedy with real heart.” — Jennifer C. Martin, Dirtbag Christian

• “A magic trick, almost tactile in its specificity, yet universal.” — Claire McNear, Answers in the Form of Questions

• “Will leave you laughing, crying, and feeling less alone.” — Mason Mennenga, A People’s Theology

• “Funny. For anyone who’s ever felt disappointed by an institution.” — Ryan Nanni, We’re Not So Different

• “Radiant compassion. A joyous and nourishing intoxicant.” — Dr. Van Newell, English, University of Alabama

• “Profound empathy. An immersive introduction into Evangelical world.” — Dr. Erich Nunn, English, Auburn University

• “Hits close to home, lands gently.” — Kevin Nye, Grace Can Lead Us Home

• “A crisis of faith that rings with uncommon truth. Surprising humor and kindness. I loved this book.” — Anthony Oliveira, Dayspring

• “You won’t be able to help but feel protective of these kids, even if — or especially if — you were one of them.” — Molly Olmstead, Slate

• “What it’s like to grow up Evangelical. Deeply funny. Deeply felt.” — Tyler Parker, A Little Blood and Dancing

• “Encyclopedic about Evangelical pop culture and compassionate about its effects.” — Dr. Leah Payne, God Gave Rock & Roll to You

• “Loved that book! Highly recommend.” — Alex Perry, Mashable

• “Scott Pilgrim vs. Focus on the Family. I recommend to anyone interested in this subculture.” — Adam Fleming Petty, Very Distant Lands

• “Hilarious and big-hearted.” — Brian Phillips, Impossible Owls

• “Anyone who connects to this podcast would definitely enjoy this book.” — Kevin T. Porter, Good Christian Fun

• “What being raised Evangelical is like. This book is the one.” — Dr. Jonathan Redding, One Nation Under Graham

• “If you grew up like we did, you will relate.” “If you didn't, this is still for you.” — Emily Rojas and Abigail Hewing, Readirect

• “Beautifully written and strong.” — Tom Sexton, Trillbilly Worker's Party

• “Helped me understand myself, my faith, and my purpose.” — Dr. Neil G. Shanks, Baylor University

• “So quick and funny and smart, you almost forget Jason’s trying to square the unsquarable contradictions of hardcore Christianity.” — Tommy Tomlinson, The Elephant in the Room

• “Hilarious, harrowing, and romantic. A triumph.” — Pete Volk, Polygon

• “Obviously, it’s entertaining. But there are parts that make you say … oh shit.” — Stephanie Warren, Focus On Your Own Family

• “Devastatingly funny and incisive. I love these idiot church kids.” — Victoria Zeller, One of the Boys

• And here are the numerous five-star reviews on Goodreads, led by: “Holy fucking shit.”

We also did a bunch of live events …

… including the sold-out Atlanta brewery in the video above, plus Wisconsin (with Matt Brown and Mason Mennenga), South Carolina (with Anna Sandy Elrod, Shannon Finck, and Joshua Martin), Philadelphia (with my kid lol), Michigan (where I got to preach at an actual church), a University of Alabama English class (with Dr. Mike Altman and Dr. Van Newell), Raleigh (with Demetri Ravanos and Michael Surber), an Auburn University English class (with Dr. Erich Nunn), Hendricks Avenue Baptist Church (actually very chill!) in Jacksonville, and a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship seminar (also very chill!) in Atlanta.

Also:

Reviews and essays

• Benjamin Rose

• Book and Film Globe by Jake Harris

• Books Are Our Superpower by Lauren Slagter

• Columbia Daily Tribune by Aarik Danielsen

• Dirtbag Christian by Jennifer C. Martin

• Independent Book Review

• Kirkus Reviews

• Literary Transgressions

• Noah Grand

• Not the Sun by Andrew Klema

• The Post-Evangelical Post by Blake Chastain

• pcvulpes

• Polygon’s Best Audiobooks list

• Publishers Weekly

• Rach Against the Machine

• Readers’ Favorite

• Sojourners by Tyler Huckabee

• Sojourners’ The Best Faith and Justice Books of the Century list

• Very Distant Lands by Adam Fleming Petty

• Does the TV Tropes page go here?

• Tbh not sure where else to brag that it has a Wikipedia page

Public review roundups

• Amazon

• Apple

• Goodreads

• Storygraph

Print interviews

• Action Cookbook with Scott Hines

• Awful Announcing with Andrew Bucholtz

• Channel 6 with Spencer Hall

• Christianity Today with Bonnie Kristian

• Dane Johns

• Good Faith Media with Samuel Shepley

• Grift of the Holy Spirit with Tony Ginocchio

• Kennesaw State University’s alumni magazine with Dave Shelles

• Penguin Random House’s Hazlitt with Anthony Oliveira

• Religion Dispatches with Mike Altman

Podcast appearances

• Big Screen Sports with Alex McDaniel and Kyle Bandujo

• Bloody Broads with Jamie and Bhavna

• Brigham Young Money

• Casual Diehard with Jesse Spector

• City Saint / Country Saint with Charles Star and L. Ron Mexico

• Decent Christian Music Talk with Eric McClanahan, Josh Olson, and Kylan Savage

• The Distraction with Drew Magary and David Roth

• Evangelicalish with April Ajoy

• Exvangelical with Blake Chastain

• Focus on Your Own Family with Stephanie Warren

• Fruitless with Josiah Sutton

• Fun Sexy Bible Time with Casey Haas and Matthew Pierce

• Good Christian Fun with Kevin T. Porter and Caroline Ely

• Hand in the Dirt with Michael Felder, Michael Surber, and Stephen Hartzell

• HM Magazine’s BlackSheep Podcast with Mason Mennenga, Cullen Mack, and Justin Hunter

• How Did You Get Here? with Jamie Howard

• Lit Lit with Dani Burford and Andrew Klema

• Message Board Genuises

• NPR’s SouthBound with Tommy Tomlinson

• Ovies & Giglio with Joe Ovies and Demetri Ravanos

• Pod Only Knows with Dr. Kelly J. Baker and John Brooks

• Readirect with Abigail Hewins and Emily Rojas

• Remember That Guy?

• Rock That Doesn’t Roll with Dr. Leah Payne and Andrew Gill

• The Shutdown Fullcast (the audio-only version of our Atlanta event)

• SportsLit with Neate Sager

• Sports Media with Richard Deitsch

• Trillbilly Worker’s Party with Tom Sexton

• Unanimous Decision with Daniel Palmer

• USA Today’s For The Watercooler with Caroline Darney and Matt Scalici

• Veterans of Culture Wars with Zach Malm and David Lester

• The Vinyl Preacher with Zach Parris

• Waitin’ Since Last Saturday with Will Leitch

• You Have Permission with Dan Koch

• And of course the Vacation Bible School Patreon

Public Q&As

• Goodreads

Once again, if you wanna talk about doing any of this sorta thing: jasonkirkbook at g mail dot com.