The Very Worst Missionary: A Memoir or Whatever

Wright reshapes the narrative around Christian missionary work, describing faith, family, and social life in the mission field of Costa Rica with a blunt wit and edgy vulnerability, expressed at times in vulgar language but also with surprising tenderness and insight. She recounts her secular Jewish upbringing, teenage pregnancy, and the quest for identity, belonging, and purpose that ensue when she marries the father of her newborn child and seeks to embrace the Christian faith he has known since childhood. Her encounter with Jesus propels the author through tremendous battles with her own personal demons: raising a child as a teen herself; forging through personal depression and the ongoing trials of married life; and navigating the hypocrisies of established church circles and ultimately surviving the contradictions of the missionary journey she and her husband embrace when they trade their suburban bliss for the missionary outposts of Costa Rica with three youngsters in tow. Narrator Madeleine Lambert's voice is engaging and versatile, but some of the humor borders on flippancy, and the swearing may offend some listeners.