Religion & Spirituality
October 2025
Becoming Yourself
by Shunryu Suzuki

In this long-overdue book from one of the most influential spiritual teachers of the last century, Shunryu Suzuki shares simple, warmhearted teachings on a practice that is fundamentally about becoming yourself. Filled with humor and insight, Becoming Yourself speaks directly to the newest beginners, while also serving as a touchstone and a continual source of inspiration for even the most experienced Zen practitioners. Based on Suzuki’s lectures and many of his unpublished teachings, his voice is clear and resonates with the unmistakable power of true wisdom.
The Conjuring of America
by Lindsey Stewart

Emerging first on plantations in the American South, enslaved conjure women used their magic to treat illnesses. These women combined their ancestral spiritual beliefs from West Africa with local herbal rituals and therapeutic remedies, forging a secret well of health and power hidden to their oppressors. In The Conjuring of America, Lindsey Stewart exposes this vital contour of American history and proves indisputably that conjure informs lives in ways remarkable and ordinary. Above all, this is a love letter to the magic Black women used to sow messages of rebellion, freedom, and hope.
Daughters of Palestine
by Leyla K. King

Leyla King has been a keeper of family stories since long before she sat down across from her grandmother with a tiny cassette tape recorder. In this beautifully crafted memoir, she braids matriarchal memory into a vivid saga of love and survival as her ancestors flee war and poverty. From Haifa to Ramallah, Damascus, Beirut, and finally Texas, Leyla makes global politics deeply personal as family squabbles, ambition, mental illness, romance, and religion shape their immigrant journey. Narrated in immersive, lyrical vignettes, Daughters of Palestine is both a testimony from Palestinian Christians and a timeless story of resilience.
The Girl Who Baptized Herself
by Meggan Watterson

Thecla, a seventeen-year-old living in Roman-occupied Turkey in 70 AD, is engaged and soon to be married. When she hears Paul preaching outside her bedroom window, she cannot seem to turn away. She becomes transfixed by his message, to the point of death. In this book, Meggan Watterson blends theology, memoir, and cultural critique to reexamine the apocryphal story of Thecla as a narrative of spiritual and personal resistance, arguing that early Christianity offered models of female empowerment that challenge patriarchal traditions, and inviting readers to reclaim their inner authority and self-defined identity.
The Lost Mary
by James D. Tabor

Mary, mother of Jesus, is the best known, and least known, woman in history. Revered and worshipped by millions, she is the ethereal subject of Raphaels and Botticellis, bathed in heavenly light. But what about the real Mary? The young Jewish woman and single mother of eight. The historical Mary whose teachings and courageous example may in fact make her the “first founder” of what is now called Christianity. This Mary has been lost. In The Lost Mary, Tabor engages in intensive textual and archaeological sleuthing, including Mary’s genealogy. His quest for the historical Mary offers a transformative perspective.
Rescue at the Reef
by Jameson & Mary Catherine Reeder; Matt Mikalatos

Ten-year-old Jameson Jr. was swimming among the marine life, capturing breathtaking footage of a sea turtle when a massive bull shark attacked. In the wake of the attack, his parents prayed for help, and it came through a miraculous chain of events. Rescue at the Reef is the true story of a young boy who defied death with an unshakable faith in the power of Jesus to save him. With reflections on faith, suffering, and the hidden gifts that often go unnoticed, this is a living reminder that with God, even the most fearsome challenges can be faced and conquered in the end.
Twelve Churches
by Fergus Butler-Gallie

Each place of worship tells a story of place, time, and most of all, people. Explores 12 churches across the globe through travel writing, history, and spiritual reflection, tracing Christianity's complex legacy while revealing how sacred spaces reflect the struggles, faith, and resilience of the people who shaped and were shaped by them. With a wry sense of humor, Butler-Gallie shows readers that despite its complexities and controversy, such a faith is still worth following, and that by acknowledging the past, you can ultimately discover the path toward healing and hope.