It wasnât until Libby Phelps was an adult, a twenty-five year old, that she escaped the Westboro Baptist Church. She is the granddaughter of its founder, Fred Phelps, and when she left, the church and its values were all sheâd known. She didnât tell her family she was leaving. It happened in just a few minutes; she ran into her house, grabbed a bag, and fled. No goodbyes.
Based in Topeka, Kansas, the Westboro Baptist Church community is one the countryâs most notorious evangelical groups. Its members are known for their boisterous picketingâtheir zealous members with anti-military, anti-Semitic, and anti-gay signsââThank God for Dead Soldiers,â âGod Hates Jews,â or âThank God for 9/11ââand their notorious catchphrase âGod hates fags.â Search for them online and youâre directed to their website, www.godhatesfags.com.
The church makes headlines in news across the country. Youâve driven past its picketers or seen them on TV. It has seventy members and ninety percent of them are part of Libbyâs family. They picket concerts, football games, other churches, and, most notoriously, the funerals of servicemen and victims of hate crimes. For its members, to question its rules is to risk going to hellâwhere worms eat at your body and fire shoots out of your eyeballs.
In Girl on a Wire, Libby is candid about her experience and whatâs happened since her escape. On Anderson Cooper Live, she was confronted by the mother of a soldier whose funeral had been picketed, and had to respond. Despite it all, she cares for her family. Her grandfatherâs sermons were fear mongering, but she loves him. This unusual memoir presents a rare, inside look into a notorious cult, and is an astonishing story of strength, bravery, and determination.