Here’s What Folks Are Saying About Trespassers:

“The author recounts the pratfalls of her childhood—as well as the lessons learned about faith and family—with wit and tenderness.” —Southern Living, July 2008

STARRED REVIEW. “Daddy had a sermon voice and an at-home voice; his church smiles and his at-home grins; his damnation-from-above tone, and his damnation-on-whoever-flooded-the-bathroom-floor-trying-to-play-Olympics tone,” writes first-time author Hancock in this beautifully crafted and downright funny memoir about growing up a Southern Baptist pastor’s daughter in Kentucky. Hancock’s voice is a real find, managing both spirituality and irreverence in her account of family and flock. Parishioners jostling for her father’s attention are particularly skewered; on the competition among church ladies to prove themselves the most charitable: “Yes, Jesus was dirt poor… But this does not take away from the fact that if you really want to show that you love someone, you have to give them things.” While her father is the focus, Hancock gives much time to nuanced, loving observation of her mother, sister and other family members, achieving unexpected depth in the ongoing narrative of her grandmother’s long illness. A true gem of a memoir, this will resonate with anyone who grew up in a religious and/or Southern family. (June)

–Publishers Weekly

“Humorously irreverent look at life as the eldest daughter of a Southern Baptist preacher whose philosophy, he once told her, “rests largely on the principle that all God’s glorious, perfect children are also dumb as dirt.” That pious but realistic comment framed Hancock’s childhood attempts to understand the church people around her as well as her own special role as the PK (preacher’s kid) in 1980s Kentucky. Her experiences will ring true for anyone long involved in a church, as she sardonically tells of busybodies and holier-than-thou congregants while keeping the main focus on the sincere believers who were her true beacon, none more so than her parents and sister. A large portion of the memoir pokes fun at the silly and often maddening people found in any congregation, prompting many a good laugh. But [the author] goes deeper, delving into her own spiritual journey. [Her] experiences are the true crucible of anyone’s faith, and they certainly shaped Hancock. The reader comes away hoping that this rueful autobiographer will tap more of her memories in the future. Expressive and thoroughly entertaining.”

–Kirkus Reviews

As this winning memoir makes clear, preachers’ kids aren’t like anybody else, ditto their upbringing, especially if they’re Baptist preachers’ children. In true preacher’s kid fashion, east-central Kentucky preacher’s kid Hancock divides the book into nine “lessons” on, respectively, kindness, gentleness, love, faithfulness, goodness, patience, joy, peace, and self-control. Sans hidden secrets, ugly abuses, and any Mommie or Daddy Dearest, this is a mostly sunny volume of happy memories, in which Kentucky basketball is almost as important as Jesus. Still, Hancock has a sly sense of subtle humor and ironic wit. Tension, when it does emerge, is a result of small misunderstandings and slightly mischievous behavior by her and her younger sister, Meg. Of course, there are dark moments recorded, such as the death of a grandmother, but the spirits of Christian goodness and a young girl at times confused about her father’s profession yet full of pride about it suffuse what is in toto a lovely book.

— June Sawyers, Booklist

Elizabeth Emerson Hancock’s “unordained memoir” of her preacher-daughter’s youth, “Trespassers Will Be Baptized,” manages to weave miracle with Miracle Whip in a sassy, sincere look at growing up Southern and saved.

Despite her eventual high-falutin’ law degree, Hancock comes home to understand her roots and her religion in a new way.

“Faith could be a ridiculous houseguest sometimes,” she writes. “It sang obnoxious songs. It talked about sex at inappropriate times.

“But once in a while … it could turn siblings into prophets; parents into healers … And no matter where you lived, and no matter what crazy forms it took in what unfamiliar towns, it was always better to just let it in than to shut it out, even when it didn’t ‘feel’ magical, even when it felt superficial, or as contrived and silly as the biggest Christmas Pageant Mrs. Mounts ever put on.”

–The Huntsville Times

“Hands up, all those who are now, or have ever been, three-times-a-week churchgoers. For Southern Baptists, that’s Sunday morning worship, Sunday evening Training Union and Wednesday night prayer meeting, choir practice, and for the kids, RAs and GAs (Royal Ambassadors for the boys, Girls’ Auxiliary – later Girls in Action – for the girls). You will especially enjoy Elizabeth Emerson Hancock’s memoir of life as a preacher’s kid. It’s no expose: never snarky, mostly fond and when she can’t be fond, she’s gentle. We meet church ladies and handsome deacons, but the focus is mostly on Hancock’s family. It’s a refreshing read for folks who are tired of seeing faith equated with ignorance and hatred.

–The Charlotte Observer, June 27, 2008

“As one who has done time in the fishbowl known as a parsonage, I can confirm that Elizabeth’s voice is authentic. Poetic and passionate writing combined with honest and unvarnished storytelling makes this story of one girl’s struggle to understand life in the stained-glass house a must-read.”

–Brad Whittington, author of Welcome to Fred

“Elizabeth Emerson Hancock has a big voice and a bigger heart, and she absolutely nails the experience of being Raised Right. I loved this memoir about growing up smart-mouthed and Baptist, written by the only preacher’s kid in America who didn’t go bad. TRESPASSERS WILL BE BAPTIZED is hilarious and touching in turn, and always hugely entertaining.”

–Joshilyn Jackson, bestselling author of gods in Alabama and Between, Georgia


“Hancock paints a candid picture of her unique childhood in this delightful memoir of religion and rebirth.”

–Nancy Redd, New York Times bestselling author of Body Drama

“Elizabeth Hancock’s riotous tale of growing up as a Southern Baptist preacher’s daughter is laugh-out-loud funny and touching at the same time. TRESPASSERS WILL BE BAPTIZED captures the true down-home spirit of all GRITS (Girls Raised In The South).”

–Deborah Ford, author of The GRITS Guide to Life, GRITS Friends Are Forevah, and Puttin’ on the GRITS

“This is as close as you can get to Southern church life without eating your weight in Velveeta. Trespassing through this book, you don’t have to be Southern, Baptist, or even a Kentucky Wildcats fan to find your sense of humor and faith more than a little revived.”

–David C. Barnette, author of The Official Guide to Christmas in the South