How the Canvas Became My Church with JoAnne Yada

What happens when the life you've been taught is the only right way suddenly stops making sense?

This week, artist, educator, muralist, and all-around badass JoAnne Yada joins me for a conversation about growing up Mormon, questioning everything, leaving a high-demand religion, and finding freedom, community, and herself on the other side. Along the way, we talk art, childhood nostalgia, awkward first drinks, cults, coffee, and why being a good person has absolutely nothing to do with church attendance.

Summary

This week's conversation starts with art but quickly turns into something much deeper.

JoAnne Yada, known to many around Alameda as "Miss Y", is an artist, educator, muralist, and community builder who spends her days teaching kids about creativity through music, art, and self-expression. But before she was helping children channel their inner Joan Jett and David Bowie, she was growing up inside Mormonism.

JoAnne shares what it was like being raised in a high-demand religion, the pressure of purity culture, church control, and the difficult process of questioning beliefs she had accepted her entire life. A turning point came when her brother came out as gay, forcing her to choose between doctrine and family. That decision ultimately changed everything.

The conversation explores faith, identity, church history, family relationships, and the freedom that comes from learning to think for yourself. We also laugh our way through JoAnne's first encounters with alcohol, coffee culture, and the social world she wasn't allowed to experience growing up.

It's funny, thoughtful, heartbreaking at times, and ultimately a story about choosing authenticity over fear.

JOANNE "MISS Y" YADA

JoAnne “Miss Y” Yada is a Bay Area–based artist and kids’ art teacher who also creates what she lovingly calls “grown-up art.” She works in an after-school arts program where she introduces kindergarteners to legendary musicians like David Bowie, Freddie Mercury, The Ramones, Joan Jett, and Daft Punk, helping them turn music history into cardboard guitars and homemade helmets.

Beyond the classroom, JoAnne paints murals all over Alameda, runs summer art camps, and leads craft classes for adults through the Alameda Gallery & Collective and Fireside. Her work and workshops can be found at rocktheblacktop.com and in local spaces like Guitar Wars in San Jose.

Resources & Mentions

Jo Anne Yada & Local Art

Jo Anne's murals can be found throughout Alameda, and her artwork is currently displayed at Fireside Lounge and Guitar Wars. She also teaches art classes for children and hosts creative workshops for adults through Alameda Gallery & Collective.

Concepts Discussed

BITE Model (Behavior, Information, Thought, Emotion Control)
A framework developed by Steven Hassan to identify authoritarian control in organizations and high-demand groups.
https://freedomofmind.com/cult-mind-control/bite-model/

Faith Deconstruction & Religious Trauma

Musicals, Theater & Entertainment

The Book of Mormon
https://bookofmormonbroadway.com

Hedwig and the Angry Inch
https://www.hedwig.com

Fiddler on the Roof
https://fiddlerontheroof.com

My Fair Lady
https://www.myfairladybway.com

The Lion King (Broadway)
https://lionking.com

Wicked
https://www.wickedthemusical.com

The Phantom of the Opera
https://www.thephantomoftheopera.com

Music & Pop Culture References

Jem and the Holograms
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jem_(TV_series)

Jem Con
https://www.jemcon.org

David Bowie
https://www.davidbowie.com

Freddie Mercury / Queen
https://www.queenonline.com

Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
https://www.joanjett.com

Daft Punk
https://www.daftpunk.com

Linda Perry
Official Website: https://www.lindaperry.com

Linda Perry Documentary: Let It Die Here
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt35066159/

Mormonism & Cultural References

Brigham Young University (BYU)
https://www.byu.edu

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org

Salt Lake City, Utah
https://www.visitsaltlake.com

💡 Key Takeaways

  • High-demand religion & control: How Mormonism used behavior, information, thoughts, and emotions (BITE model) to shape every aspect of life, and what it takes to walk away.

  • Purity culture & gender: The harm of “chewed-up gum” and “licked cupcake” analogies, modesty rules for girls, and how blame is consistently shifted onto women and queer people.

  • Leaving and rebuilding: The grief of losing your entire community, whether it’s a church or a marriage, and the slow, powerful process of creating a new life that’s truly yours.

  • Art as resistance & healing: Drawing through sermons, painting murals, teaching kids about queer and gender-nonconforming icons, and using creativity to reclaim joy and identity.

  • Changing the narrative: From Linda Perry’s “Let It Die Here” to Jo Anne’s and Siobhan’s lives, the episode shows how we can rewrite our stories, challenge old beliefs, and practice new ways of relating.

“I will proudly say that I'm an apostate… I'm free."

~ JoAnne

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