★ GOLD MEDAL WINNER — 2026 Illumination Book Awards
“Wilson does not clean himself up for the audience. The writing has the kind of honesty most memoirs sidestep.”
— Asher Syed, Readers’ Favorite ★★★★★
“Writing with candor, insight, and emotion—and without a shred of self-pity.”
—Elizabeth Ridley, Coauthor of The Dirt Beneath Our Door (Matt Holt Books, 2025)
What if telling the truth meant losing everything you love?
Barefoot in the backwoods of South Alabama, John grew up amid poverty, violence, fear, and a family constantly coming apart.
The small Pentecostal church at the edge of a cotton field didn’t just offer hope.
It offered safety.
Belonging.
Certainty.
But only if he obeyed.
If he conformed.
If he became the man God required.
So he became exactly what he believed he had to be.
A pastor, preaching a gospel that left no room for who he was.
A husband, building a life on a promise that broke them both.
A father, determined to stay no matter the cost.
And he buried the part of himself his faith condemned.
For years, he fought to silence the questions he couldn’t outrun:
Why won’t God heal me?
Why would He condemn me for something I didn’t choose—and can’t change?
When the silence finally broke, everything collapsed.
Straight to Hell is a memoir about faith, shame, and the cost of becoming honest when honesty threatens to destroy everything you love.
At its heart, this is also a story about love: a father fighting to hold onto his daughters as the life he built to protect them falls apart, and the search for a self—and a faith—that can survive the truth.
Includes a discussion guide for book clubs and personal reflection.
