Aaron Hartzler grew up in a home where he was taught that at any moment Jesus might come down in the twinkling of an eye, and scoop his whole family up to Heaven. As a kid, Aaron was thrilled by the idea that each day might be his last one on planet Earth. He couldn't wait to blastoff and join Jesus in the sky!
But as he turns sixteen, Aaron finds himself more and more attached to his life on Earth, and curious about all the things his family forsakes for the Lord. He begins to realize he doesn't want the Rapture to happen, just yet; not before he sees his first movie, stars in the school play, or has his first kiss. Before long, Aaron makes the plunge from conflicted do-gooder to full-fledged teen rebel.
Whether he's sneaking out, making out, or at the piano playing hymns with a hangover, Aaron learns a few lessons that can't be found in the Bible. He discovers the best friends aren't always the ones your mom and dad approve of, and the tricky part about believing is that no one can do it for you.
In this funny and heartfelt coming of age memoir, debut author Aaron Hartzler recalls his teenage journey to find the person he is without losing the family who loves him. It's a story about losing your faith, finding your place, and learning your very own truth--which is always stranger than fiction.
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21 of 22 people found the following review helpful.
Very Nicely Done
By Kindle Reader
I pre-ordered this book after reading an interview with the author a week or two before it was released. His situation seemed so similar to what I experienced growing up in the same general part of the country during the same general time period (our ages are less than five years apart), with parents who were very similar to the author's. When the ebook automatically and unexpectedly arrived at midnight on the April 9 release date, I thought I'd read a chapter or two before going to bed. Instead, I read about 150 pages, and have now finished the entire 390-page book in just two days.The author's writing is spare and beautiful; very matter-of-fact yet strangely insightful. I also very much enjoyed his witty take on practices and beliefs that I recall very clearly from my childhood and adolescence. And I suspect that readers who don't share this common background will nevertheless find the book worthwhile and useful in understanding a certain way of living (or being raised) that is really quite odd and inexplicable.My only complaint, and it's a slight one, is that the book ends too early in the author's life (high school graduation). I'd like to know how the story continues -- how the character at the end of the story became the author who could write this tender, reflective autobiography. So, the author should write a sequel. I'd also love to know what his parents think of the book (will they read it? discuss it with him?).
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful.one of the best memoirs of "finding religion"
By K. Sue
Aaron Hartzler grew up in an extremely conservative Christian family that did not have a tv, go to movies or listen to music. Even contemporary Christian rock because "you can't mix God's words with the Devil's beat." However, as he gets older he begins to question these beliefs. He begins to love rock music because it makes him feel happy and he can't understand how that can be a sin. Aaron participates in church services, teaches Good News children's group, acts in his Christian private school 's elaborately staged dramas all the while questioning the logic of his parents' strongest held beliefs, but ultimately finding his own way to peace and understanding with his family. All this is presented in a humorous (I can't count how many times I laughed out loud.) and sincere way to become one of the best memoir of "finding religion" that I have ever read.I also grew up in a religious Christian family and though my parents, thankfully, weren't so strict, I have often come into contact with people who believe in the ways of Aaron's parents and school administration. I could so identify with Aaron because his reaction to so much of what he saw in his life was my reaction. I often felt I was reading a more articulate version of my experience. The book is extremely well written for someone who doesn't have a background in writing (He's an actor and musician), but he manages to express so much of what I felt as a teenager in an engaging and intelligent way. I had and to this day, have many of the same questions that Aaron grappled with: if God knows every decision we will make before we are born, then why give us free will, if Jesus turned water to wine, then why is it not allowed to drink a glass of wine, how can a serial killer who asks for salvation days before execution make it into heaven while a good person in the jungles of Africa who didn't have the luck to hear about the Gospel won't make it into heaven to name a few. Aaron didn't really have anyone to whom he could turn to ask questions. Aaron, today an out homosexual as far as I have been able to understand in the book's press, grapples with sexual identity, although that is more or less only hinted at in this book. I get the feeling that that will be the subject of a sequel to this book. I would be very interested in reading this story and how his family accepted this.I would recommend this book to teens and adults alike, religious and non-religious because it is such a well written journey of faith. Even though Aaron ultimately rejects his parents' version of Christianity, he is never bitter or derisive.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful.Funny, Moving, Beautiful
By Dawn M. Leach
Rapture Practice is a beautiful memoir that doesn't preach or force an agenda, but rather, let's the reader find their own nuggets of truth in the beautiful growth and struggle of a teen finding his true self between the lines of the future his family had already written for him.Few books can make me run the gamut of emotions in one sitting, but this book did. I laughed, cried, and felt humiliation and anger right along with young Aaron. Maybe part of the reason this book resonates with me is because, in part, I lived many of these experiences. However, I think this story is universal.It isn't just a story about growing up gay (in fact, that plays a very small role in the overall scheme of things) or growing up in a strict religious family/community. This is a story about discovering yourself, discovering you have your own mind, and your own desires and choices to make. It's also a story about discovering that your parents are very human and flawed, but that despite that, despite differences that may take us very far away from what our parents want for us...there can still be great love and affection and ultimately acceptance.
