Lapsed
Author ・ 2021
For anyone who grew up Catholic - and their support team.
From devout ten-year-old performing the part of Jesus in a primary school play to blaspheming, undergraduate atheist, Monica Dux and her attitude to the Catholic Church changed profoundly over a decade. Eventually, she calmed down and was just ‘lapsed’.
With the wry humour of David Sedaris and the razor-sharp observations of Nora Ephron, Lapsed is the story of one woman’s attempt to exorcise her religious upbringing, and to answer the question, is Catholicism like a blood group and,
if so, is it possible to get a total transfusion?
‘A frank, funny and heartfelt exorcism of our need to believe in a man in the sky.’ – SHAUN MICALLEF
‘Enlightening, forensic and laugh-out-loud funny.’ – JANE CARO
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You can purchase Monica’s other books here.
Praise for Lapsed
'Dux has written a moving personal memoir that will resonate with many. Lapsed is enlivened by biting if blasphemous humour, and is a scathingly effective denunciation of the Roman Catholic Church, from Pope Francis down. For that reason, it should be read by all those who still love that institution or respect its teachings.’
– ROY WILLIAMS, Eternity News
'Dux is flamboyant and irreverent. If learning to laugh at ourselves and our inconsistencies is an opportunity for growth, Dux provides ample opportunity for believers and ‘lapseds’ alike.’
– SARAH BACALLER, Sydney Review of Books
‘If you were once a Catholic, or you love a lapsed one, you need to read this book.”’
– ROBERT O’HEARN, The Booktopian
'Lapsed is a brave book full of humour and relentless intellectual curiosity.'
– CHRIS GORDON, Readings
'In Lapsed, Dux shows compassion, curiosity and care towards the religion that had shaped her youth. Watching her extend those qualities towards those closest to her felt like a mini-revelation on why writers write.’
– JESSIE TU, The Sydney Morning Herald
'Lapsed is essential reading for every ex-Catholic – and their support group. Fans of the piercing observations of Clementine Ford and the wry humour of David Sedaris are sure to feel in safe hands with Monica Dux.’
– MELINA BUNTING, The Book Bird