Some inheritances we keep. Some we rewrite.
You didn't just inherit your grandmother's china or her eyes. You inherited her hymns, her prayers, the weight of her God. But what do you do when those sacred songs no longer fit? When the melodies that once promised salvation now echo with harm?
In Not My Grandmother's Hymnal, queer poet Rebecca Wilson offers a canticle of transformation-verses that honor what was passed down while composing something entirely new. These poems don't shy away from church harm, generational trauma, or the ache of religious wounding. But they also don't leave you drowning in the depths. Instead, they become a lighthouse, illuminating possibilities for radical acceptance and a curious faith rebuilt on your own terms.
Part elegy, part liberation, part love song to the self you're becoming-this collection is for anyone:
Healing from wounds inflicted by ChristianityDeconstructing inherited beliefsRe-imagining what faith could beDiscovering their identity outside the binary of "believer" or "lost"
With language both familiar and ethereal, Wilson rearranges the hymns she once sang on Sundays into something wholly her own. Each poem is an invitation: to grieve what must be grieved, to release what no longer serves, and to compose a faith as unique and beautiful as you are.
This is communion for the commons. A hymnal for rewriting wrongs.
Whether you've left the church, been pushed out, or are still sitting in the pews wondering if you belong-these words are for you.
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Published by Tehom Center Publishing. Tehom Center Publishing is a 501(c)3 nonprofit publishing feminist and queer authors, with a commitment to elevate BIPOC writers. Learn more at www.tehomcenter.org
