“For everyone who’s ever taken a chance – or wanted to take a chance – on escaping the constraints of high-control religion, this book will validate and fortify you. Filled with insights on how God-talk is often used to enforce conformity and coerce compliance, A Thousand Tiny Paper Cuts provides manna for the journey toward a life unbounded.”

“With her years of experience working with and advocating for survivors, Katherine Spearing is an important voice on the issue of spiritual abuse in the American evangelical church. She shares her deep, hard-earned insight into the insidiousness and complexity of this form of abuse and how to heal from religious trauma. This book is an incredibly valuable resource for survivors and for those who love them.”

“In A Thousand Tiny Paper Cuts, Katherine Spearing speaks with an unabashed vulnerability that will resonate with those breaking free from toxic religious patriarchy. Her story and wisdom effectively portray how spiritual abuse can occur with or without physical harm. Spearing leaves no stone unturned as she provides grace and hope to all who are healing. ”

“From the spiritual abuse glossary (a healing resource in and of itself!) to Katherine’s story and professional take on spiritual abuse, she pulled me in right from the beginning! This gem is surprisingly easy to read considering the difficult subject matter. She artfully weaves her story and the core, essential concepts of religious abuse into a digestible flow. For anyone trying to make sense of their journey through the confusing maze of religious abuse recovery, Katherine’s treatment of this topic is authentic, courageous, original, clear, humorous and deeply true – a roadmap for any and all on their journey towards healing. ”

“It’s imperative that spiritual abuse survivors have a common vocabulary that describes what happened to them, as well as the manipulation tactics used by those with power. The lexicon that Katherine Spearing offers is an important first step for healing, as well as the start to reimagining what life-giving spirituality and relationships could look like. ”

“A Thousand Tiny Paper Cuts is a piercing, necessary exploration of spiritual abuse that validates the quiet pain so many carry. Katherine Spearing writes with clarity, compassion, intellect and strength—offering not just understanding, but hope. This book is a lifeline for anyone navigating life on the other side.”

“Katherine Spearing’s A Thousand Tiny Paper Cuts is a vital, personal guide for survivors of spiritual abuse. With practical wisdom, it illuminates the path to healing and empowerment, offering hope and wisdom for those reclaiming their lives from coercive control.”

“With haunting prose, Spearing tells of the ways that spiritual abuse continues to find many of us in the dark. Even more remarkably, she captures how longing can sit alongside terror, how dreams can grow stubbornly against our fears. For all its probing of white evangelicalism’s dark heart, this is a soulful book. ”

“A Thousand Paper Cuts is a no-holds-barred guide for individuals seeking a fulfilling life beyond spiritual abuse and religious trauma. Author Katherine Spearing blends lived experience, professional insight, and fierce advocacy for the life that matters most: her own. She’s a bold model for anyone who dares to be whole after being diminished by patriarchy. ”

“A Thousand Tiny Paper Cuts lays bare the thin, often invisible line between growing up in a cult and simply being raised “a devout Christian” in America. It reveals how high-control religious systems hide in plain sight—unquestioned and unchallenged by the majority—because they don’t look ‘extreme’ enough to raise alarms. And it makes a powerful case that the real work of healing doesn’t end just because you leave the system. It’s a grueling, ongoing struggle of grieving that begins where the escape story ends.”

“Katherine Spearing is an impressive presence in this field. Because of her experiences and insights, she has the unique ability to understand that it is because of a succession of countless harmful events and teachings that one is left needing care and healing in order to feel capable in this world and hopeful about the future.”

“I loved reading how Katherine had to forge her own path around relationships and sexuality, after realizing that the Church’s strict teachings just didn’t work for her. Deconstructing your faith is one thing, deconstructing your sexuality is quite another!

May it give you the courage to find your own unique path to yourself, your body, your heart, and your sexuality too. ”