Losing My Religions: A half-failed life of airplanes, agony, animals, basketball, betrayal, bliss, cameras, chaos, cops...

by Matt Ball, Anne Green (Editor), Mandy Tucker (Illustrator)

Overview

Matt was a small-town Christian boy when he met with a number of unlikely twists and turns that took him far from his obedient, omnivorous origins.

Part memoir and part travelog, interspersed with essays, musings, and tips, Losing My Religions takes you on a journey of true love, crushing betrayals, and near-death and near-marriage experiences.

Catholicism, chronic pain, consciousness, depression, disability, drugs, free will, photography, sex, sociology, Sportsball!, and suicide are just some of what Matt deals with in 54 years, covered in the book in just 31 days. In these pages, you will live May 2022 with him, traveling across Europe and the Southwestern United States to hear how he became an atheist, father of a non-binary child, a hated and hunted former vegan, and survivor of accidents and illnesses that haven't killed him. Yet.

Losing My Religions shows that on his life's journey, Matt changes his mind, discovers three tips everyone should know, and finds the first key to happiness. (No joke.) Arriving home from this month of adventures, he is still a cranky old man who should never have been born, broken from lung to heart to neck to jaw to nose. But traveling with his soulmate showed him it is still possible to be "so happy it's scary" while wearing clothes.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798986956527
Publisher:	One Step for Animals
Publication date:	10/01/2022
Pages:	524
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 1.05(d)

About the Author

Matt Ball is the author, co-author, secondary-author, ghost-author, and non-author of countless articles, speeches, book chapters, and even entire books! The most recent is his blockbuster* The Accidental Activist. Currently, he is President of One Step for Animals; previously, he was shitcanned from so many nonprofits that we can’t list them all here. Before Matt’s unfortunate encounter with activism, he was an aerospace engineer who wanted to work for NASA (to impress Carl Sagan).

His hobbies include photography, almost dying, and {REDACTED}. (Hey! This is a family-friendly bio!) He lives in Tucson with his soulmate and reluctant editor Anne Green, along with no dogs, no cats, no guinea pigs, and only the occasional snake and scorpion.
*JK

Editorial Reviews

I've been reading your book - it's a tour de force! The narrative and visuals (everything from Death Valley to chocolate crinkle cookies) are so lively. It's really unlike anything I've read before.

Beta Reader - B K

I finished your book last night. It was great! I did a straight-through read because if I stopped to do something else, it felt like I was interrupting you! There is something about conversationally-written pieces that are a breath of fresh air, and you did an excellent job. I also love how you sometimes anticipate a reaction in a section and basically explain what the reader might be thinking at that point.

Beta Reader - Dan K

It's only just after 7am now and I read the first 70 pages. It's very unusual writing and I have found it efficient in that I couldn't put it down - even though I repeatedly thought I'd only just read one more page.

Australian Beta Reader - Vincent B

I can't believe how real [the book] is. It's definitely a nice change of pace from the typical stuffy, overly serious memoir....

Beta Reader - A C

This is by far the truest and most honest autobiography I have ever read. It is great work and obviously very difficult and hard work. I suffered through some very severe depression in my teenage years and it continued into my 30s. I'm very happy that the meds are working for you and that the book ended on a positive note. I hope to read the sequel in 5, 10, or 20 years, your Return of the Jedi.

Beta Reader - Stewart S