
Growing Up Saved: When Loving God Feels Like Losing Yourself
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781496478566
Publication Date: 03/03/2026
What do you do if the faith that raised you seems to fail when you need it the most?
Kristen LaValley grew up a church kid through and through. She said “the sinner’s prayer” before she could write her name—and spent the next few decades trying to prove she meant it; in a body that couldn’t rest, with a mind she didn’t yet understand, under a God she was afraid to disappoint. She learned to perform the kind of faith that got praised: one that hid pain and swallowed questions.
But in the thick of depression, spiritual exhaustion, and a late ADHD diagnosis, she found herself wondering if the faith she’d built her life on could really hold her.
In Growing Up Saved, Kristen maps the slow undoing of a faith formed in certainty and what it took to find God in the middle of her unraveling.
In these pages, you’ll find authenticity, empathy, and compassionate theology as you explore:
Kristen LaValley grew up a church kid through and through. She said “the sinner’s prayer” before she could write her name—and spent the next few decades trying to prove she meant it; in a body that couldn’t rest, with a mind she didn’t yet understand, under a God she was afraid to disappoint. She learned to perform the kind of faith that got praised: one that hid pain and swallowed questions.
But in the thick of depression, spiritual exhaustion, and a late ADHD diagnosis, she found herself wondering if the faith she’d built her life on could really hold her.
In Growing Up Saved, Kristen maps the slow undoing of a faith formed in certainty and what it took to find God in the middle of her unraveling.
In these pages, you’ll find authenticity, empathy, and compassionate theology as you explore:
- how to find your way through a faith that was formed in fear
- the intersection of trauma, mental health, neurodivergence, and spiritual identity
- the healing work of making peace with your body, your mind, and your story
- a path for those navigating life after disillusionment, burnout, religious trauma, or pain
Choose options

Growing Up Saved: When Loving God Feels Like Losing Yourself
Sale price$18.99
New Releases
The Lighthouse at the World's End (B&N Exclusive Edition) (The House at the Edge of Magic Series #4)
Amy Sparkes
BN Exclusive
Sale price$8.99
Her Hidden Fire (A Good Morning America YA Book Club Pick)
Cliodhna O'Sullivan
Hardcover
Sale price$22.99
















