Spiritual Probation
"Setting his tale inside the closed society of a fundamentalist university, Rich Merritt tells a fascinating story that is alternately disturbing and inspiring.Spiritual Probationopened my eyes and touched my heart.-Joe DiPietro, Tony-Award winning playwright ofMemphis"In every decade, a true classic emerges, which demonstrates the strength of the human will to conquer and survive the ills of its society. Merritt has written such a work in this coming-of-age story of courage and conviction in a world that is perceptively lacking in empathy and compassion for the individual spirit and soul. A poignant 'must read' for such present times, which is so heavily burdened with the painful effects of  emotional bullying and spiritual abuse, so currently at the forefront of daily life."--Lynda Mandell, M.D., Ph.D., Board Certified Psychiatrist"For  those of us who have left fundamentalism, our exodus stories are often met with a caveat-emptor-inspired 'You chose to go there!' or a flippant  'You should have known better!' Merritt'sSpiritual Probationmeets those consumerist dismissals head on. Merritt's is a very human story--with bright, promising young people caught in an oppressive, intrusive ideology and thrown into the most senseless tragedy. ... This story is our story."--Camille K. Lewis, Ph.D., author ofRomancing the Difference: Kenneth Burke, Bob Jones University, and the Rhetoric of Religious Fundamentalism"Rich  Merritt's assault on the malign effects of religious indoctrination at faith-based schools combines high drama, hot romance and the pathos of families victimized by name-brand Christianity."-Elliott Mackle, author ofCaptain Harding's Six-Day WarandIt Takes Two