When We Were on Fire

A Memoir of Consuming Faith, Tangled Love, and Starting Over

By: Addie Zierman

Narrated by: Jaimee Draper

In the strange us-versus-them world of the '90s Christian subculture, your faith was measured by how many WWJD bracelets you wore and whether or not you'd "kissed dating good-bye".

Evangelical poster child Addie Zierman wore three WWJD bracelets, led two Bible studies, and listened exclusively to Christian rock. She was "on fire for God", unaware that the flame of her faith was dwindling until it burned entirely out.

With candor and transparency, Addie chronicles her journey through church culture, first love, and her entrance - unprepared and angry - into marriage. When she washes out of church and nearly her marriage on a sea of tequila and depression, she isn't sure if she'll ever go back.

When We Were on Fire is a funny, heartbreaking story of untangling oneself from cliché in search of a faith worth embracing. It's a story for anyone who has ever felt alone in a crowded church. For the cynic. The doubter. The former Jesus freak struggling with the complexity of life. It's a story about the slow work of returning to love, Jesus, and (perhaps toughest of all) his imperfect followers. And in the end, it's about what lasts when nothing else seems worth keeping.

Download the accompanying reference guide.©2016 Convergent Books (P)2016 Oasis Audio

Flickering Flame

I read this book at a time when I needed it. While some of the specifics are different between myself and Addie, I recognized so much of my own spiritual journey in these pages. The desire to stand out because of a faith you realized only too late was built on quicksand, and what happens when your life breaks open and you realize your faith is not your own.
The writing is vivid, poetic in places, raw and beautiful and heartbreaking. The narration is pitch perfect.
Anyone who wants to understand the evangelical subculture, this book is both raw and gracious and should be essential reading.

Gives me hope

Been really burnt out from the church scene after so many years of growing up in it.

It's great to know that I'm not the only one who feels this way, but Addie's story gives me hope that I can one day come back. I cannot deny that my time there has been an integral part of my life.

It's very well written, but also well narrated. First time to binge a book in only 3 nights!

One of my favorite books

I found this book years ago when I first started deconstructing (though I didn't have the language for it then). It made me feel so seen. I've reread it so many times. Lines and details have become *part of me.*

I enjoyed the audiobook. I'm having a difficult time focusing on reading books right now, and it was wonderful to be able to revisit one of my all-time favorite books in a way that I can currently access. Sometimes the narration was too cheerful-sounding for me, but that's just me, LOL! The narrator did a wonderful job.