The incredible, inspiring true story of one woman’s escape from religious indoctrination, through the power of books, publishing in our National Year of Reading

The incredible story of how forbidden books sparked a woman’s journey from Christian stardom to self-liberation.

'Julianna Glasse blazes a trail for every woman who has ever felt oppressed' CHELSEA HANDLER
'This is a story of change, inspiration, transformation and tenacity . . . Incredible' JONATHAN VAN NESS

At the peak of her fame, Julianna Glasse was a pop star and exemplary wife and mother, one half of a Christian power couple. She and her husband, a Major League Baseball star, led Bible studies for his team and their wives. But when her love of reading drew her to books like Plato’s Republic, de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex and poems by Dickinson, Rumi and Rilke, something inside her shifted.

Slowly Julianna began to question things she had previously accepted as truth – something she knew her strict church community would forbid. She hid her books under the bed, in the linen closet, wherever they would not be found. But when her husband discovered them, his furious words would serve as her liberation: ‘This is what happens when women read!’

In this riveting memoir, Julianna writes of her very public and painful split from both the church and her husband – the self-hatred, depression, shame and suicidal impulses that almost destroyed her; the books she read that inspired her to embrace life as an autonomous, independent woman and pursue her education at Oxford; and, finally, her path to self-discovery and purpose.

With a suggested reading list at the back of the book, This is What Happens When Women Read is at once a dramatic personal story, a conversation-starter about women’s liberation, and an inspiring tribute to the power of books.

"A powerful debut memoir . . . Patient and curious rather than rageful or high-minded, Glasse’s account is a love letter to art, literature and finding beauty in the world on one’s own terms. It makes for empowering reading" - PUBLISHERS WEEKLY