Linda Kay Klein

Linda Kay Klein is author of the award-winning book Pure: Inside the Evangelical Movement that Shamed a Generation of Young Women and How I Broke Free. She is the founder of Break Free Together, a not-for-profit organization serving individuals recovering from gender- and sexuality-based religious trauma. Linda has played a critical role in the creation of Center for Story & Witness’s newest testimonial writing program, Breaking Free, which was developed specifically for the community Linda centers her work in.

“The thing about a wound is that, when treated, it heals,” says Linda. “A light wound disappears altogether and a deep wound develops into a scar – that thick, dark fabric, raised and stronger than the skin around it. It is from our scars that we write the stories that will change the world.”

Linda has spoken on various TEDx stages and at The Apollo’s Women of the World Festival. Her work has been featured by over 150 media outlets, including The New York Times, NPR, CBS, NBC, and Elle. A trained Our Whole Lives (OWL) sexuality education facilitator, Linda holds an interdisciplinary master’s degree in gender, sexuality, and religion from New York University.

Linda has worked in the social change sector for over two decades. Her background includes founding a program on how to find and follow your purpose, which has been used at over 200 universities for the social entrepreneurship incubator Echoing Green; working hand in hand with over 100 million-dollar donors supporting global women’s and girls’ causes through the nonprofit Women Moving Millions; and her groundbreaking, life-changing work confronting purity culture. An alum of our Center for Story & Witness’s testimonial writing program, Linda is a living example of how powerful, purposeful, and change-creating our stories can be.