I’ve been an admirer of David French for a while. He’s one of depressingly few conservative Christian thought leaders who has proven to not be either a coward, cynic or hypocrite in the age of Trump, and I’ve appreciated his clear-eyed assessment of this situation while remaining true to his values and beliefs. I greatly respect his ability to engage constructively, patiently and graciously with people who disagree with him - an approach that sometimes earns him criticism and even threats, but also respect from fair-minded people across the political spectrum. This explains why he regularly appears in the conservative Dispatch, the Christian Holy Post, the centrist Bulwark and the liberal New York Times.
I’ve known a bit about his history from reading and listening to him over the years. I knew he was a constitutional lawyer from the South, the former president of FIRE and an Iraq war veteran. I also knew he was married and had several kids, including an adopted daughter from Africa. And I had heard a bit about his wife, Nancy, after she earned some recognition for her work exposing a sex abuse scandal at Kanakuk camps. Lately I’d been hearing more from and about her thanks to her appearance in the excellent After Party course (which I reviewed), and the news of her cancer diagnosis. And now, her memoir Ghosted.
Wow. Ghosted is a non-fiction page-turner and a wild ride from the very beginning. Nancy is a ghost writer who has authored a number of books for famous conservatives including Ben Sasse and Sarah Palin and notes how this experience has made her feel like she’s lived multiple lives. But I’d say that’s a fair description even absent her ghost-writing career. From growing up in a poor family from the Appalachian Mountains, to experience of sexual abuse and multiple near-death experiences, to events that can only be described as supernatural, her personal story is riveting. I knew David had an impressive background and was a uniquely gifted communicator, but Nancy is at least his equal in both regards.
The book provides an honest, candid and moving chronicle of Nancy’s life, which was one of extremes. She survived unbelievable personal trauma and participated in and even influenced the upper echelons of American political power. She crashed into Mitt while skiing with the Romneys in Utah, attended a Trump rally at the behest of a ghost-writing client, was almost murdered by a psychotic boyfriend only to be saved at the last minute by her other boyfriend, has lived in rural Tennessee and New York City, lost and regained her faith, became engaged to David three weeks after they started dating, was the target of despicable hatred by the alt-right for adopting a child from Africa, made breakfast for Steve Bannon while living with the Palins to write a book with Bristol, exposed rampant sex abuse at Kanakuk Camps, and is now battling an aggressive form of breast cancer. Definitely a life worthy of a memoir.
Ultimately, the theme of Ghosted is one of courageous sacrifice, faith and a commitment to truth and justice. The most significant example of this, which runs through the entire book, is that of sexual abuse and the pervasive impediments to justice that exist everywhere, from religious institutions to schools to political parties to law enforcement. Nancy is an inspiring example of a victim finding her voice and tirelessly fighting to protect others, but that this was necessary - particularly in Christian organizations - is evidence of a deep failing of our society. Nancy and David’s experience as exiles from the Republican party for their opposition to Trump is less tragic but speaks to the same problem. One cannot achieve just ends if lies, cruelty and cowardice are the means. The inevitable result is the corruption of the entire enterprise.
I’ve read a few books this year on topics that intersect with this one. Liz Cheney’s Oath and Honor is vitally important for its detailed record of a consequential time in American history and the Republican party’s abandonment of its principles. Tim Alberta’s The Kingdom, The Power and The Glory is a well-researched story of the American evangelical church’s corrupting pursuit of political power. Both are important books, especially in this election year, but French’s Ghosted manages to make the moral case in a much more personal and ultimately compelling way.
While I could not relate to most of her story, her personal struggles with the church and GOP since 2015 absolutely resonated. The refusal of so many Christians and Republicans to see and reject the moral compromises that were necessary to support Trump was (and still is) gobsmackingly hypocritical. And I’ve been appalled by the nastiness of “conservative” writers toward honest conservative critics of Trump like the Frenches. One example in the book was Julie Kelly of American Greatness who described Nancy’s experience (which she made public in a Washington Post op-ed) as a 12-year old victim of sexual abuse by a pastor as “screwing around with her preacher.” (I remembered that name - Kelly also featured in The Epoch Times “documentary” I reviewed about January 6, and more recently earned infamy for apparently starting the uproar over the completely false claim that the Biden administration tried to assassinate Trump.)
There is so much in this beautifully written, hauntingly tragic, at times humorous, at times hard to believe masterpiece than I will retell here, because really you owe it to yourself to just read it. But I will share the feeling that I personally found most surprising: conviction.
French recounts several instances of what can only be explained as supernatural, almost miraculous experiences. From Nancy’s dreams about her best friend’s imminent death in a car accident and, separately, David’s fight with an incurable disease of the colon, to the sudden cure of that disease after a friend’s marathon prayer session, to the traveling “prophet’s” knowledge of her struggles with self-harm and unknown pregnancy (and that the unborn baby would survive a supposedly terminal condition), to the multiple times her life was saved by rescuers arriving at just the right time - there is a lot in here that my skeptical mind struggled to accept. As a Christian, I believe in the supernatural, but I’ve tended to view modern-day miracles as likely misinterpretations of natural phenomena. But a life like Nancy’s forces me to question the source of my disbelief.
I was also convicted by the Frenches’ example of self-sacrifice: David’s enlistment in the military to fight in Iraq at the age of 36 out of a feeling of patriotic obligation, and Nancy’s willingness to let him while having young kids to care for. Nancy’s persistent (and public) opening of childhood wounds in order to serve and protect others, and her vow to not “bear false witness” against liberals in her ghost writing for conservative clients, which tanked a successful (and influential) career. Their decision to adopt, and their kids’ enthusiasm to share their life with another child. When I compare my family to theirs, I can’t help feeling like we’re more Phil and Claire Dunphy than David and Nancy French.
I highly recommend this book, especially if you come from a conservative Christian background. If you enjoy audio books, French’s narration is excellent. And I hope you’ll join me in praying for her in her battle with breast cancer.