An empowering story of self-actualization by a former Christian pop star whose life was transformed by reading.

At the peak of her fame, Julianna Glasse seemed to have everything she wanted: a successful career as a Christian pop singer and author, a high-profile marriage, and a respected place in the evangelical community that had shaped her understanding of herself and the world. But beneath the surface, questions she could no longer ignore began to challenge everything she had spent decades learning, teaching, and defending.

The books she started to read opened doors she could not shut. The certainties she had inherited over her lifetime no longer felt certain. She came to see how fear had shaped so many of her choices, and how freedom often begins with a question.

In this deeply personal memoir, Julianna writes of her very public and painful split from both the church and her husband—the self-hatred, depression, shame, and suicidal impulses that almost destroyed her; the books she read that inspired her to embrace life as an autonomous, independent woman and pursue her education at the University of Oxford; and, finally, her path to self-discovery and purpose. This Is What Happens When Women Read is for anyone who has outgrown a belief, a relationship, a role, or a version of themselves—and is beginning to imagine what comes next.