Life after belief, with the dramatic parts removed.
Things Nobody Warned Me About looks at life after religion once the dramatic expectations have worn off. It is a lighter, self-aware series about labels, unsolicited explanations, awkward questions and the surprisingly ordinary business of continuing to be human.
Some essays examine the assumptions people make about ex-Muslims: that leaving religion must produce anger, rebellion or an entirely new personality. Others simply notice the comedy in being treated as more mysterious than one actually is. Beneath the humour is a secular Malay perspective on identity and belonging in Singapore, where religion and ethnicity are often assumed to arrive as a single package.
The series may be useful to readers who want a less solemn picture of life after belief—and to anyone who has discovered that other people can be far more preoccupied with a label than the person carrying it. Parts 1–4 are available in English and Bahasa Melayu.
Nobody Told Me Life Would Be So… Ordinary.
Life after religion is often less dramatic—and more ordinary—than other people imagine.
Imported · Read now →Apparently, Everyone Can Read My Mind.
Why strangers’ assumptions can say more about them than the person they are trying to explain.
Imported · Read now →Leaving Religion Didn’t Make Me Interesting.
Being an ex-Muslim is part of a life, not the whole story.
Imported · Read now →People Would Ask Questions They Didn’t Actually Want Answered.
The difference between genuine curiosity and a lecture wearing a question mark as a disguise.
Imported · Read now →