Spirituality and Religion
July 2026
Recent Releases
Beyond Life and Death: The Way of True Freedom by Jet Li
Beyond Life and Death: The Way of True Freedom
by Jet Li

Best known for his martial arts films, Jet Li turns inward in this reflective memoir, drawing on Buddhist philosophy and his own life experiences to make sense of both loss and survival, and the search for meaning itself. He explores how confronting impermanence can reshape priorities and open the door to a more centered kind of peace.
Braving the Truth: Essential Essays for Reckoning with and Reimagining Faith by Rachel Held Evans
Braving the Truth: Essential Essays for Reckoning with and Reimagining Faith
by Rachel Held Evans

New York Times bestselling author Rachel Held Evans inspired a generation of questioning and evolving believers. This book offers a collection of her most impactful essays--in print for the first time.  Today, her words still speak, and now for the first time, fans old and new can experience her most viral and enduring essays in print--from those tackling patriarchy, white supremacy, and religious nationalism to those offering new interpretations of Scripture, freeing perspectives on doubt, and a better way forward.  Thoughtful yet down-to-earth, immediate and timeless, this essay collection is a gift from the past to bring into the future--a treasury to revitalize, validate, embolden, and return to again and again.
The Crooked Places Made Straight: Reflections on the Moral Meaning of America by Raphael G. Warnock
The Crooked Places Made Straight: Reflections on the Moral Meaning of America
by Raphael G. Warnock

In this deeply passionate reflection, Senator Raphael Warnock (also a pastor) draws on scripture, personal experience, and a deep commitment to justice to consider what faith looks like in public life. Grounding his thinking in the prophetic vision of Isaiah, he connects it to issues like inequality, gun violence, and incarceration -- inviting readers to imagine a more just and compassionate society.
Engaged Compassion: Seven Practices to Cultivate Resilience, Connection, and a Joyous Life by Lobsang Tenzin Negi
Engaged Compassion: Seven Practices to Cultivate Resilience, Connection, and a...
by Lobsang Tenzin Negi, PhD; foreword by His Holiness the DaLai Lama

Rooted in Tibetan Buddhist tradition, this thoughtful work brings together contemplative practice and research on how we think, feel, and relate to others, exploring compassion as something we can actually learn. With a focus on practical steps and real‑world application, it offers a grounded approach to developing empathy in a world where it can be hard to find.
Everything in Color: A Love Story by Stephanie Stalvey
Everything in Color: A Love Story
by Stephanie Stalvey

In this evocative graphic memoir, artist Stephanie Stalvey reflects on growing up in a rigid fundamentalist faith and the slow, often painful process of finding a different way to believe. Rendered in black‑and‑white for her past and in vivid color for her present, she traces a shift toward a more compassionate, embodied spirituality grounded in love, creativity, and connection.
A God-Shaped Nation: Five Hundred Years of Religion in America by Brook Wilensky-Lanford
A God-Shaped Nation: Five Hundred Years of Religion in America
by Brook Wilensky-Lanford

In this wide‑ranging history, Brook Wilensky‑Lanford explores how religion has shaped American life from its earliest beginnings to the present day. Tracing tensions between diversity and dominance, belief and power, she offers a nuanced look at how faith continues to influence the United States today -- for better and for worse.
If There Is No God: The Battle Over Who Defines Good and Evil by Dennis Prager
If There Is No God: The Battle Over Who Defines Good and Evil
by Dennis Prager

For fifty years, Dennis Prager, one of the best-known public intellectuals in the Western world, has explored the vital role Judeo-Christian values play in shaping individual lives and entire societies. In If There Is No God, he engages in provocative and sometimes heated exchanges with questioners who offer some of the greatest challenges he has faced concerning how one determines good and evil and why one's feelings can be life-enhancing yet morally unimportant.
Love Thy Stranger: How the Teachings of Jesus Transformed the Moral Conscience of the West by Bart D. Ehrman
Love Thy Stranger: How the Teachings of Jesus Transformed the Moral Conscience...
by Bart D. Ehrman

Biblical scholar Bart D. Ehrman turns to early Christian texts to explore what Jesus originally taught about loving outsiders, enemies, and those on the margins. While the ideas themselves may feel familiar, this accessible study places them in historical context, tracing how a radical ethic of care took shape, and how it continues to echo, albeit imperfectly, in modern moral discourse.
Malcolm in the Desert: Wisdom from the Spiritual Transformation of Malcolm X by Ilyasah Shabazz
Malcolm in the Desert: Wisdom from the Spiritual Transformation of Malcolm X
by Ilyasah Shabazz

Written by Malcolm X’s daughter, this account looks beyond the public figure to explore a quieter period of spiritual searching and transformation in his life, centered around his pilgrimage to Mecca. Drawing on family memory and historical context, it traces his shift from religious certainty toward a more expansive vision of faith and human connection, offering a portrait of change that feels especially relevant for readers navigating their own evolving beliefs about identity, faith, and justice.
Reality in Ruins: How Conspiracy Theory Became an American Evangelical Crisis by Jared Stacy Phd
Reality in Ruins: How Conspiracy Theory Became an American Evangelical Crisis
by Jared Stacy, PhD

In this impassioned debut, former pastor Jared Stacy looks at what happens when people stop agreeing on what’s true. Drawing on his own experience inside evangelical communities, he explores the attraction of certainty and conspiracy -- and what it might take to find a way forward with more honesty and humility.
Contact Reference at prkref@parkridgelibrary.org for more great recommendations!  Or fill out this Book Match form and a librarian will email you a personalized list of reading suggestions!
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