Favorite new-to-me Author: Barbara Brown Taylor

• Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith
• An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith
• Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others

As I review the list of books I read last year, I am reminded of God’s propensity to show up with impeccable timing. My introduction to Barbara Brown Taylor was one such instance. Last year my sister connected me with Writing for Your Life, and I considered attending one of their conferences featuring Barbara Brown Taylor as a speaker. I wasn’t familiar with her so I decided to order one of her books—see if I might like (or dislike) her writing. The book I ordered was Leaving Church, an appropriate title, given that our family had recently stepped down from six years in house church leadership.

When I start writing quotes on note cards, I know I’ve found a favorite new author. I felt seen and affirmed as I read Barbara’s story. Here are samples from my note cards:

“I had kept my soul so hitched to the plow that it stood between the traces even after the harness was off, oiled, and hung on the wall.”

“If you decide to live on the fire that God has kindled inside of you instead of rushing out to find some sticks to rub together, then it does not take long for all sorts of feelings to come out of hiding.”

“I decided to take a rest from trying to be Jesus … Today I will take a break from trying to save the world and enjoy my blessed swath of it instead. I will give thanks for what is instead of withholding my praise until all is as it should be. If I get good enough at this, I may even be able to include my sorry self in the bargain.”

So good.

After Leaving Church, I read An Altar in the World, which again coincided with a turning point in my life—or maybe created that turning point. The final chapter is about blessing, a topic I had never heard of, despite the word’s frequent appearance in Scripture and around the dinner table. Barbara wrote, “The most ordinary things are drenched in divine possibility.” I was captivated. I began writing blessings, beginning each with the phrase, “Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe.” I have found joy as I discover the divine in dirt and desire, bodies and brokenness, tears and trees. I have written nearly thirty blessings, and post one to my blog and social media every Monday. This has been an exciting journey for me into the world of poetry. Even more amazing, it has opened my eyes to the wonders of the natural world and of daily experiences, in a way I never thought possible.

Next I read Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others, a continuation of Barbara’s personal faith story, and an invitation to God’s presence in the people and practices of faiths other than Christianity. An excellent read.

Fiction and Stories

• Run To Overcome: The Inspiring Story of an American Champion’s Long-Distance Quest to Achieve a Big Dream, by Meb Keflezighi with Dick Patrick
• Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption, by Bryan Stevenson
• Nobody Don’t Love Nobody: Lessons on Love from the School With No Name, by Stacey Bess
• Overcomer, by Chris Fabry, a novelization based on the motion picture by Alex Kendrick and Stephen Kendrick
• Carry On, Warrior: The Power of Embracing Your Messy, Beautiful Life, by Glennon Doyle Melton

Short notes on these:

Run to Overcome My favorite part was the first couple of chapters, detailing the author’s early life in Eritrea, and the determination of his parents to seek out a new life for their large family.

Just Mercy This story demonstrates what compassion and empathy, justice and mercy look like with skin on. I highly recommend it. (The movie is good too).

Nobody Don’t Love Nobody Another flesh-and-blood illustration of compassion, this is a moving story that forever changed the way I view helping others.

Overcomer Enjoyable read. Based on the movie, which I also enjoyed.

Carry On, Warrior One of the qualities I most admire in writing is the ability to put one’s inner world into words. Glennon Doyle Melton has a gift for this. Carry On, Warrior was a funny, refreshing and personally challenging read.

Spiritual and Self-Help Books

• Barking to the Choir: The Power of Radical Kinship, by Gregory Boyle
• Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion, by Gregory Boyle
• Almost Everything: Notes on Hope, by Anne Lamott
• Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith, by Anne Lamott
• The Making of a Mystic: My Journey With Mushrooms, My Life as a Pastor, and Why It’s Okay for Everyone to Relax, by Kevin Sweeney
• Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone, by Brené Brown
• MOMumental: Adventures in the Messy Art of Raising a Family, by Jennifer Grant
• The Hidden Half of the Gospel: How His Suffering Can Heal Yours, by Paul Coneff with Lindsey Gendke
• No Cure for Being Human (and Other Truths I Need to Hear), by Kate Bowler
• Free From Sin: The Audacious Claim of Gospel Freedom and What It Means for You, by Jonathan Leonardo
• No Longer I: The Power of the Gospel Like You Have Never Heard It Before, by Jacob Hotchkiss
• Grace Based Parenting: Set Your Family Free, by Tim Kimmel

I’ve ordered these books by how much I enjoyed them (starting with the most enjoyable). I won’t comment on every one.

Gregory Boyle and Anne Lamott were my favorite new authors in 2021. I continued reading them this year and was not disappointed.

The Making of a Mystic caught my eye because Gregory Boyle often quotes the great mystics, but I had no idea what a mystic is. When I watched this book interview with Kevin Sweeney, author of The Making of a Mystic, I was intrigued. I ordered the book and read with rapture. It is a fascinating personal story, and an invitation to a new way of seeing, well, everything.

Brené Brown is a longtime favorite author. I thoroughly enjoyed Braving the Wilderness. Here is one of my favorite passages, from the chapter titled, “Hold Hands. With Strangers.” (emphasis added)

While we may all be gathered behind the same bunkers of political or social belief and ideology, we’re still alone in them. And even worse, we’re constantly monitoring ourselves. The looming threat of blowback should we voice an opinion or idea that challenges our bunker mates keeps us anxious. When all that binds us is what we believe rather than who we are, changing our mind or challenging the collective ideology is risky.

When a group or community doesn’t tolerate dissent and disagreement, it forgoes any experience of inextricable connection. There is no true belonging, only an unspoken treaty to hate the same people. This fuels our spiritual crisis of disconnection.

MOMumental is a humble and humorous collection of stories about Jennifer Grant’s parenting adventures. It is encouraging, which every parenting book should be if at all possible. I fell in love with Jennifer’s children’s books—especially Maybe God Is Like That Too—which led me to try one of her books for women. This is one of those books I wish I’d read six or seven years ago, when I needed more moments of grace to survive preschool parenting.

The Hidden Half of the Gospel, Free From Sin, and No Longer I were theological reads, with which I developed a love-hate relationship. I found life-giving ideas that resonated with my personal journey. I also found a prescriptive way of speaking that triggered my shame-based, black-and-white patterns of thinking. I take full credit for this, as I would not say any of them endorse shame and legalism. It was simply a manner of speaking that was at times triggering for me.

In conclusion, I am not the same person I was a year ago, and that is due in part to many of these books. Reading good writing is a thrill, as are the “me too” moments, and the “I’d never thought of it that way before” moments. Reading opens me, and oh, how I want to be open. Here’s to another year of reading, another year of intimacy with beautiful, broken people.