Not all that glitters is gold; not all who leave are lost.

The youngest daughter of devout conservative Christians, Lauren is the favored golden child. Her parents’ doting is rivaled only by her devotion to them; with an absent brother and rebellious sister, she knows her mother and father need her to be perfect, and for their happiness—their approval, their love—perfection is a small price to pay.

Until it bankrupts her.

While Lauren and her husband follow their faith into the complexities of adoption, missionary work overseas, and a new understanding of systemic racism in America, her parents embrace Christian Nationalism. A chasm opens between herself and her loved ones, and her golden, perfect identity is lost. Can it be regained? Does she want it back...or will she don the mantel of scapegoat and leave her gilded cage forever?

This coming-of-age memoir honors the tender pain of anyone whose perfect world has crashed around them, revealing the fractures built into the frame from the beginning. In an era when conversation about family estrangement is at an all-time high, Golden Child: My Descent to Scapegoat and Rise to Freedom offers hope, wisdom, and empowerment to those fleeing a broken family system in search of healing, freedom, and peace.