Before the Fall

What did life look like before fear, shame, domination, and the thorns?

Before the Fall begins with that simple question—and follows it from the Garden of Genesis to the restored creation of Revelation.

Michael Clegg invites readers to slow down, return to the beginning, and rediscover what God called “very good.” Before humanity hid among the trees, men and women stood face-to-face. Before people were reduced to workers, titles, arguments, or problems to solve, they were image-bearers. Before towers, thrones, and systems of domination, there was a garden, a calling, and relationship with the Creator.

Through Scripture, Jewish insight, personal stories, gentle humor, and the recurring image of the Gardener, this book explores:

The dignity of every image-bearer
The strength and voices of women in Scripture
The difference between leadership and domination
The continuing place of Israel within God’s story
The importance of Deaf and disabled people within the community
The difference between building towers and preparing tables
The journey from the curse toward restoration

Along the way, readers will meet Hagar beside the well, Jacob wrestling through the night, the midwives who refused Pharaoh, Miriam with her tambourine, Deborah beneath the palm, Huldah with the forgotten scroll, Mary Magdalene in the garden, and the Jewish Messiah who entered the thorns to begin making all things new.

This is not a book against men, tradition, or the church. It is an invitation to ask honest questions, listen more deeply, and examine whether some things we call “biblical” are actually part of the curse rather than the original design.

The Garden reveals God’s intention.
The Fall reveals what sin distorted.
The Torah remembers.
The Prophets call us back.
Yeshua restores.
And Revelation promises: “No more curse.”

The trail still exists.

The Gardener is still calling names.

And there is still a place waiting for you at the table.