Organizations like Good Faith Media and Tehom Center Publishing believe the most sacred texts are often written not only in ink, but also in flesh—inscribed in the bones, breath and memories of those marginalized by dominant theologies. Through the Belief Behind the Book series, we amplify these embodied theologies, particularly those born from the ache of religious trauma and the grace of spiritual resilience.
Emily Hedrick’s How to Treat Your Body Like a Sacred Text is one such gospel. It invites readers to do what patriarchal religion has long discouraged: to trust the body, to read it reverently, and to follow its wisdom toward healing. Today’s Belief Behind the Book features this prophetic text.
Belief Behind the Book is a feature that gives readers a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the beliefs—or what I call “the why”—behind books written by progressive spiritual leaders. Inspired by the Ministry from the Margins Books program, Belief Behind the Book shines a spotlight on why authors write the books they write, offering up practical tips for readers to apply to their own belief systems.
Hedrick’s book is centered on the question, “What if your body has a gospel you’ve been ignoring?”
She says, “Mine did. I spent 10 years trying to silence it with codependent ministry and religious education. This book is about what I learned when I finally started listening.”
How to Treat Your Body Like a Sacred Text takes you through her personal journey from a theologically toxic childhood to pastoral burnout to recovery through listening to her body. Blending trauma theory with progressive religious insights, she offers practical skills for healing from toxic religion. Learn to listen to your body and transform your understanding of religion and trauma.
Emily Hedrick is a Mennonite pastor turned resilience coach who specializes in religious trauma and compassion fatigue. Her first book, True Confessions of a God Killer: A Postmodern Pilgrim’s Progress, explores her initial experiences with religious trauma through allegory. In How to Treat Your Body Like a Sacred Text, she combines her professional education and training to offer understanding and practical tools to those navigating the aftereffects of toxic religion and finding a path to well-being.
When I asked why she wrote this book, Hedrick responded, “I wrote this book to bridge a gap I was living in. On one side were people surviving religious trauma, deeply distrustful of anything that smelled like faith. On the other was the healing I experienced in divinity school, learning to read ancient texts with curiosity and care. This book explores what happens when trauma theory and sacred reading meet— starting with the body.”
How to Treat Your Body Like a Sacred Text also offers practical takeaways. Hedrick continues, “The body believes before and after the mind does. It carries both wounds and wisdom. When you learn to read your body with the same care and reverence we’ve used to treat ancient texts, healing becomes possible.”
The scriptures of empire have long tried to overwrite the wisdom of our bodies. But your body is holy. Your sensations are sacred verses.
As Hedrick teaches, healing begins when we read ourselves with the same tenderness we’ve been taught to reserve for ancient scrolls.
So take a breath. Listen deeply. What gospel is your body whispering today?
Let this book be your guide and your permission slip. And may you go forward not only believing in your body—but believing your body.
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Award-winning author of ten books, including The Authorpreneur Handbook. Founder and CEO of Tehom Center Publishing, a nonprofit press publishing feminist and queer authors, with a commitment to elevate BIPOC writers. Rev. Dr. Yarber’s work has been featured in Forbes, HuffPo, NPR, The Advocate, Ms. Magazine, the television show Tiny House Nation, and more. She travels the world speaking, preaching, publishing, and writing, but she can always be found at www.tehomcenter.org
