exchanging messages with a man who helped her change her life and i'm here to welcome her, megan phelps-roper. [applause] >> good evening everyone and thank you for being here tonight. my name is megan phelps-roper and i grew up in a very tightknit family intobeacon kansas . i am the third of 11 children , three girls and eight boys and we lived on a tree-lined street with dozens of relatives in the surrounding houses. just across our backyard was the church we attended every sunday where my grandfather had been the only pastor since itsinception in the 1950s . my mom's family was vocally challenging and in the hymns that rang out gave me chills. their passionate praises to god for his mercy and grace echoing off the low ceilings and into my welcoming years. i grew up crowd of my family. father had been a well-known gcivil rights activist, a lawyer from the 1960s to the 1980s and had won awards from civil rights groups like the naacp. my family had suffered from that work, not just the constant vandalism but physical attacks on my elementary school age children but that never sway them from t

i am here to welcome her, megan phelps-roper. [applause]. megan: good evening everyone and thank you so much for being here tonight. my name is megan phelps-roper and i grew up in a very tightknit family in topeka, kansas value of the third of 11 children. three girls in a voice. i would've done tree-lined street with dozens of relatives and the surrounding houses. just across the backyard, was the church we attended every sunday my grandfather had been the only pastor since its inception in the 1950s. my mom's family was vocally checked talented and hymns rang out during the weekly services often gave me chills. the pastor praises to god, for his mercy and his grace echoing off of the ceilings and into my welcoming years. i grow proud of my family. my grandfather had been a well-known activist. a lawyer, in the 1960s into the 1980s and had won awards from civil rights groups. my family had suffered for that work. such as the content vandalism but the physical attacks on the grandfather's commentary school aged children. but then never swayed

i couldn't be more pleased to be introducing megan phelps-roper for her book on followed.alking in the back, her discussion of life in a li