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Deirdre Sugiuchi

@djsugi1

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UNREFORMED: AN EVANGELICAL CAPTIVITY NARRATIVE @vine_leaves_press 2/16/27| cofounder @new_town_revue | Athens, GA via MS Delta |former ps librarian |

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More highlights from my interview with author and Mississippi expat Deirdre Sugiuchi who now lives in Athens, GA. In her forthcoming memoir, Unreformed: An Evangelical Captivity Narrative, Deirdre details how she survived an adolescence spent in a brutal reform school far from home and explores the unregulated troubled teen industry and rising religious extremism. Read the full interview and explore our archives at rooted.substack.com.

📸 Deirdre at the Evangelical reform school she attended in the Dominican Republic.

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Writer and former librarian Deirdre Sugiuchi experienced a dramatic shift in her relationship with her home state after returning from a traumatic reform school experience in the Dominican Republic. Born and raised in Greenwood, Deirdre writes “I’m from the Mississippi Delta, a brutal yet beautiful place, and I wouldn’t trade that birthright for anything.”

In her forthcoming memoir, Unreformed: An Evangelical Captivity Narrative, Deirdre details how she survived an adolescence spent in the brutal reform school far from home and explores the unregulated troubled teen industry and rising religious extremism. Today, she shares how her Mississippi roots have affected her life’s path and her career as a writer.

Read the full interview with Deirdre at rooted.substack.com. Like, share, and subscribe to get each new issue featuring a creative, interesting Mississippians delivered straight to your inbox.

📸Deirdre Sugiuchi lives in Athens, GA. 📸The Confederate Monument, erected in 1913, that stands in front of the Greenwood Courthouse.

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It will never ever be anything but Toilet Paper USA to me 🫡 JD, you are even more embarrassing than ever 😅

#threads #jdvance #thread #godawgs #news

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We are loving this trend! These are the faces behind all your favorite classes🫶🏼💫

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I spent the past month at The Hambidge Center and it was 🌈🌈. All about everything I did at djsugi.substack.com, plus residency deadlines, including Hambidge. Scroll for pics—there aren’t many & Substack explains why!— and a video of me taking everything down—packing my walls took FOREVER.

Also huge shoutout to Jason Narducy, Michael Shannon, the 40 Watt and R.E.M. for the incredible show I skipped away to in the middle of my residency. You were incredible and inspirational. ❤️❤️
@hambidgecenter @color.andshape @casey__engel djsugi.substack.com

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@annajrollins & me unpack the intersection of purity culture & diet culture in her debut FAMISHED at djsugi.substack.com

#famished #dietculture #purityculture #unreformed

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Meet Deirdre 🤍

After her own injury recovery led her back to the mat, Deirdre was inspired to become an instructor and completed her training at Pure Balance in 2025.
She brings a thoughtful, grounding presence to the room—expect intentional movement and space to really tune in to your body.

Deirdre loves helping others connect to their bodies and breath while building strength and resilience through Pilates—one intentional movement at a time.
We’re so happy to have her on the Pure Balance team ✨

If you haven’t tried her class yet, come move with her Thursdays at 6:30pm 💫

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Read Deirdre Sugiuchi’s interview with “Famished: On Food, Sex, and Growing Up a Good Girl” author Anna Rollins. They discuss how purity culture impacts women’s sexuality, the racialization of fatphobia during Reconstruction, and why the most powerful critiques of fundamentalism often come from those who grew up within it. 💡Link in our bio💡

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Evangelical purity culture affects us all

Over at @electricliterature, I’m talking with @djsugi1 about how Evangelical purity culture is mainstream culture — how it affects political policy and unexamined ideologies

Read more on Electric Literature—and order Famished today.

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Thanks to the folks who shared their stories and insights with me for this HuffPost piece!

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@unsilenced_now :
This is Breanna Gonzales.

Breanna survived multiple assaults by age 14 and helped prosecutors convict her abusers.

Instead of protection, she was funneled through the Troubled Teen Industry to prison pipeline by age 17.

She is now 24, has serious medical needs, and has been on suicide watch for 160+ days.

Prison officials admit she belongs in a hospital but refuse to transfer her.

This is the TTI-to-prison pipeline. Breanna is asking for our help.

Sign the petition today to help grant Breanna her one request—to be transferred to the Arizona State Hospital so she can receive the medical and mental health care that she needs.

Link in bio.

#SaveBreanna #troubledteenindustry #breakingcodesilence #arizona #prisonpipeline @djsugi1

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We're doing this 9/19 at Hendershot’s!!! ✨️
Books, music, poetry, & more!
Come join us!

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