God and Man at Georgetown Prep: How I Became a Catholic Despite 20 Years of Catholic Schooling is a 2005 memoir about Catholic school, alcoholism, binge drinking, and hookup culture at Georgetown Preparatory School, written by Mark Gauvreau Judge. The name of the book is a reference to conservative writer William F. Buckley Jr.'s 1951 college memoir God and Man at Yale. Judge had previously written a 1997 memoir about the same institution, Wasted: Tales of a GenX Drunk. He would go on to publish a third book about Catholicism in 2010, A Tremor of Bliss. The author details rampant alcohol abuse at Georgetown Preparatory School, including downing beers with a music teacher from the school, while the teacher was entertained by a stripper. The author recounts a "100 Kegs or Bust" challenge, where the goal was to consume 100 kegs of beer before the end of the school year. Judge chronicles his exit from religiousness, followed by a return to Catholicism later in life. He criticizes those who diverge from traditional Catholicism and advocates for a return to more stringent religious practices. Judge's book garnered reviews from multiple publications including Publishers Weekly, First Things, Christianity Today, and the National Catholic Register. Publishers Weekly called the book "a humorous, edgy look" at the author's Catholic school experiences. First Things called it "a compelling account". Christianity Today recommended the book as "a model for an intellectual life". National Catholic Register characterized the work as a "wonderful and ultimately hopeful book". Jerry Oppenheimer wrote in his 2015 book, RFK Jr. that Judge's book significantly affected Georgetown Preparatory School. Oppenheimer commented that the book "caused quite a storm", due to its revelation by Judge that "alcoholism was rampant" at the school. God and Man at Georgetown Prep received increased attention in 2018 during the Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court nomination in the wake of statements by psychologist Christine Blasey Ford that implicated Brett Kavanaugh and Mark Judge in possible sexual assault. Demand for Judge's work significantly increased after reporting by The Washington Post on his books and the statements by Ford. The price of the book rose to US$550 in Internet purchases. In the wake of the increased attention to student alcohol consumption, the president of Georgetown Preparatory School released a public letter saying he was trying to change the situation.
Contents summary God and Man at Georgetown Prep examines the author's trials and travails at three different well-respected Catholic educational institutions in the United States. Judge discusses how his initial education in multiple Catholic schools motivated him to wish to become less religious in nature. He circles back to religion later in life, and discusses how he eventually found a renewed strength in Catholicism. The author recounts the religiousness of his father, Joseph Judge. Judge discusses a broken road of various mistakes made throughout his lifetime, which in the end brought him back to Catholicism as his choice of how to practice his faith.
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