Note: Published in 1997, the book I Kissed Dating Goodbye was a sensation among evangelical Christians. While many readers found its advice about boundaries and dating helpful, others who were made to read it as young people found its advice perpetuated shame and fear about gender and sexual identity—particularly those that did not conform to patriarchal, heteronormative constructs.
In 2018, Joshua Harris publicly disavowed I Kissed Dating Goodbye and discontinued its publication.
Sarah Carson is the author of several poetry collections, including How to Baptize a Child in Flint, Michigan (2022), winner of the 2021 Lexi Rudnitsky Editor’s Choice Award from Persea Books. She is currently at work on a memoir about single motherhood, work and the rules that govern the universe. You can read more of her work at stuffsarahwrote.com