Books By Favorite New Authors:

• Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, by Anne Lamott
• Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith, by Anne Lamott
• Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers, by Anne Lamott
• The Whole Language: The Power of Extravagant Tenderness, by Gregory Boyle
• Dusk, Night, Dawn: On Revival and Courage, by Anne Lamott

Two things changed my life in 2021: 1) the MUK LUKS® my mother-in-law gave me (my feet are the warmest they’ve been since leaving my mother’s womb), and 2) the book The Whole Language: The Power of Extravagant Tenderness, by Gregory Boyle. This book took God right out of the box I had Him in. It pushed me in the best way possible, away from the shallows into a deep, expansive God. It changed how I think about myself and the people around me. It made me laugh and cry. I copied line upon line into my journal:

“God meets our intensity of longing with intensity of longing.”

“We always need to abandon ‘performance’ when it comes to God, and walk instead into the arms of encounter.”

“God is only interested in lavishing us with extravagant tenderness, and yet we are convinced that God is thinking we all could just do a better job.”

“What saves us in the present moment is being anchored in love and tethered to a sustaining God who keeps reminding us of our unshakable goodness and the goodness of others.”

In addition to these legalism-defying snapshots of God, the book overflows with stories of the “homies” Father Boyle works with at Homeboy Industries. These stories of wounded people who wound others—but find themselves always in the good graces of God—paint the most ravishing picture of Jesus. This book gave me permission to say, “I couldn’t be any better,” instead of “I’m such a mess.”

Boyle has written two other books, one of which I’ve already read this year; the other is on my nightstand ready to be imbibed. He spoke at the university here where I live, and I met him afterward. This was long before I had read any of his books, but it still gives me bragging rights (wink).

Another author whom I read for the first time last year, and immediately fell in love with, is Anne Lamott. The first Lamott book I read was Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. It was recommended by multiple friends, and when I finally read it I was hooked. “Good writing is about telling the truth,” she writes, and she is wildly honest. She is refreshing, funny, and deeply real. Special thanks to my sister for lending me several of her Lamott books to feed my addiction.

Fiction and Stories

• Stormie, by Stormie Omartian
• Kisses from Katie: A Story of Relentless Love and Redemption, by Katie Davis, with Beth Clark
• The Bridge, by Karen Kingsbury
• A Time to Mend, A Time to Gather, and A Time to Surrender (3 books), by Sally John & Gary Smalley
• The Secret Garden, by F. Hodgson Burnett

I have read Stormie several times. It’s an easy read and a powerful story of God’s redemption in the aftermath of being raised by a mentally ill mom. Kisses from Katie is an unexpected tale of Jesus’ love in the life of a teenage girl who moved to Uganda and adopted 13 daughters.

If you like Christian fiction and haven’t read Karen Kingsbury, definitely give her a try. I’ve enjoyed dozens of her books. The series by Sally John and Gary Smalley was excellent as well.

I read The Secret Garden aloud to my husband—a fun way to revisit a classic. We’ve also read Tom Sawyer aloud together, and The Hobbit.

Parenting Books

• How To Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk, by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish
• Discipline That Connects With Your Child’s Heart: Building Faith, Wisdom, and Character in the Messes of Daily Life, by Jim and Lynne Jackson

Parenting is a tough subject to write about. As parents, we look for answers, but I think we know that no method is really an answer. I appreciated the respectful and emotionally intelligent approach of How To Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk, as well as the reflection questions and practice exercises.

Discipline That Connects With Your Child’s Heart is my favorite parenting book and the only one I have returned to multiple times. I always refer to it as “the book that sent me to counseling,” which is true. It has a number of suggestions for being safe with our children, such as taking a minute to calm down before responding to a stressful situation. One idea was to keep a small bottle of lotion in your pocket and take time to stop and rub lotion into your hands so you can emotionally re-center before engaging with your kid(s). I read that, and I knew I needed a month on a desert island to re-center… and that’s when it occurred to me that counseling might be in order. I was fortunate to find a counselor whose guidance was in sync with the Holy Spirit in my life. What a blessing that was during the most trying years of parenting preschoolers.

Religion and Self-Help Books

• In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction, by Gabor Maté
• The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, by John Mark Comer
• God Has a Name, by John Mark Comer
• All Shall Be Well: Awakening to God’s Presence in His Messy, Abundant World, by Catherine McNiel
• A Personal Perspective, by Sonya Lang Hackett
• Love Lives Here: Finding What You Need in a World Telling You What You Want, by Maria Goff
• Happiness Is a Serious Problem: A Human Nature Repair Manual, by Dennis Prager
• The Lies We Believe about God: Knowing God for Who He Really Is, by Dr. Chris Thurman
• The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God, by Timothy Keller with Kathy Keller

I’ve ordered these books from most favorite to least favorite. I won’t comment on all of them. First, let me say that I have received tremendous insight from Timothy Keller’s books and sermons, and I would recommend everything I’ve read or listened to, except this book on marriage. It was unbearably dry, and so long… it may be represented in one or two of my gray hairs.

John Mark Comer was my favorite new author last year and I enjoyed his books again this year. Catherine McNiel is another author I returned to, and would recommend, especially for young mothers.

At the top of the list is a book recommended by my friend Ruth. It’s a longer book (536 pages), but it was such a blessing. It gave me a much broader and more informed perspective on addiction. I enjoyed the stories more than the medical explanations, but both were helpful. Maté writes with authenticity and understanding. He was also featured in a documentary titled The Wisdom of Trauma, which has sparked an ongoing conversation about mental illness and addiction. I’ll close this post with a quote from Maté: “Trauma is not what happens to you. Trauma is what happens inside you, as a result of what happens to you.”