Michele Ketzmerick

I Married an Atheist . . . Thank God! Michele Ketzmerick

Michele Ketzmerick grew up feeling relieved she was a Catholic who belonged to the "best" religion-the one true faith that purportedly offered the only real way to heaven. As a sometimes rebellious teenager, Michele never strayed far from the dark confessional, knowing she would always be forgiven, no matter how grave the transgression. Yet, after four decades of proud Catholicism, a crisis prompted Michele to embark on an enlightening quest into her faith and beliefs in which she soon discovered more about herself than she ever imagined. When Michele found herself facing the possibility of a life-threatening medical diagnosis, she suddenly realized that, for someone with a supposedly sturdy faith, she was terrified of death, of heaven, and of an uncertain afterlife. As she reveals how she began to question her faith and the tenets of her religion, Michele details how she unexpectedly learned more about peace, compassion, and morality from nonbelievers than she had during her entire life as a theist-and subsequently experienced the consequences of maneuvering in territory once forbidden for people of faith. I Married an Atheist-thank God shares the compelling story of one woman's transition from long-held Catholicism to the courageous realization that it is okay to live a cherished, respectful, and loving life without religion.