Trespassers Will Be Baptized

Starred review from June 2, 2008
"Daddy had a sermon voice and an at-home voice; his church smiles and his at-home grins; his damnation-from-above tone, and his damnation-on-whoever-flooded-the-bathroom-floor-trying-to-play-Olympics tone," writes first-time author Hancock in this beautifully crafted and downright funny memoir about growing up a Southern Baptist pastor's daughter in Kentucky. Hancock's voice is a real find, managing both spirituality and irreverence in her account of family and flock. Parishioners jostling for her father's attention are particularly skewered; on the competition among church ladies to prove themselves the most charitable: "Yes, Jesus was dirt poor... But this does not take away from the fact that if you really want to show that you love someone, you have to give them things." While her father is the focus, Hancock gives much time to nuanced, loving observation of her mother, sister and other family members, achieving unexpected depth in the ongoing narrative of her grandmother's long illness. A true gem of a memoir, this will resonate with anyone who grew up in a religious and/or Southern family.

Starred review from June 9, 2008
"Daddy had a sermon voice and an at-home voice; his church smiles and his at-home grins; his damnation-from-above tone, and his damnation-on-whoever-flooded-the-bathroom-floor-trying-to-play-Olympics tone," writes first-time author Hancock in this beautifully crafted and downright funny memoir about growing up a Southern Baptist pastor's daughter in Kentucky. Hancock's voice is a real find, managing both spirituality and irreverence in her account of family and flock. Parishioners jostling for her father's attention are particularly skewered; on the competition among church ladies to prove themselves the most charitable: "Yes, Jesus was dirt poor... But this does not take away from the fact that if you really want to show that you love someone, you have to give them things." While her father is the focus, Hancock gives much time to nuanced, loving observation of her mother, sister and other family members, achieving unexpected depth in the ongoing narrative of her grandmother's long illness. A true gem of a memoir, this will resonate with anyone who grew up in a religious and/or Southern family.

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