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Spirituality and Religion September 2018 |
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| In Search of Wisdom: A Monk, a Philosopher, and a Psychiatrist on What Matters Most by Matthieu Ricard, Christophe Andre, and Alexandre JollienThe premise: What happens when a monk, a shrink, and a philosopher walk into a (proverbial) bar? If they're as well-educated and observant as the three authors of this book, expect an expansive discussion of many of the issues at the core of happiness, enlightenment, and life itself.
What sets it apart: While other books have presented interfaith and interdisciplinary dialogues about spiritual issues, the has a warmth, intimacy, and frankness to that is only possible because of the authors' many years of close friendship. |
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Aware : the science and practice of presence : the groundbreaking meditation practice
by Daniel J. Siegel
An in-depth look at the science that underlies meditation's effectiveness, this book teaches readers how to harness the power of the principle "Where attention goes, neural firing flows, and neural connection grows." Siegel reveals how developing a Wheel of Awareness practice to focus attention, open awareness, and cultivate kind intention can literally help you grow a healthier brain and reduce fear, anxiety, and stress in your life. The New York Times best-selling author of Brainstorm and Mindsight introduces readers to his science-based Wheel of Awareness meditation discipline, demonstrating how a practice of focused attention and kindness can promote brain health and psychological wellness
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| Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again by Rachel Held EvansWhat it is: an eloquent analysis of the Bible as a work of literature.
What sets it apart: Rachel Held Evans admirably analyzes the Bible without getting too caught up in literalism: the "literal truth" of biblical stories is less important to her than the lessons they hold.
Why you might like it: The author's esteem for and admiration of her subject is palpable, which makes for a compelling balance of historical context and personal reflection. |
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The road to Walden : 12 life lessons from a sojourn to Thoreau's cabin
by Kevin T. Dann
"The acclaimed author of Expect Great Things: The Life and Search of Henry David Thoreau traverses on foot from Manhattan to the site of Thoreau's cabin at Walden Pond, often retracing steps walked by Thoreau himself, and unlocks the practical principlesof the mystic's life in the woods. When Henry David Thoreau launched his experiment in living at Walden Pond, he began by walking beyond the narrow limits of his neighbors, simply by putting himself at a mile remove from Concord's bourgeois epicenter--and a thousand-mile remove from stasis, complacency, and conformity. Kevin Dann emulates and extends Thoreau's experiment in radical self-education. Alternating between personal anecdotes from his spring 2017 walking pilgrimage and other "traveler" encounters and episodes told by Thoreau, Dann structures his book around 12 "injunctions"--distillations of seminal stories about overcoming convention and stasis"
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I can only imagine : a memoir
by Bart Millard
The lead singer of a popular, contemporary Christian band, MercyMe, shares how growing up with an abusive father and having his dreams of being a professional athlete destroyed by a sports injury led him to music and healing through faith, in a book that inspired the motion picture set to released in March 2018.
MercyMe’s crossover hit, “I Can Only Imagine,” has touched millions of people around the world. But few know about the pain, redemption, and healing that inspired it. Now Bart Millard, award-winning recording artist and lead singer of MercyMe, shares how his dad’s transformation from abusive father to man of God sparked a divine moment in music history.
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Zen in the age of anxiety : wisdom for navigating our modern lives
by Tim Burkett
Written in the style of an owner’s manual, a guide to being human, Burkett focuses on areas of pain and anxiety as they tend to manifest for modern people: feelings of unworthiness, and issues surrounding sex, money, failure, and even death. Providing wisdom from Zen (channeled through his many experiences as a psychotherapist) and using language and metaphors from popular culture, he takes anxiety and teaches us to turn those fears into the building blocks of a fulfilling life.
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| The Chosen Wars: How Judaism Became an American Religion by Steven R. WeismanWhat it is: an engaging, richly detailed journey through the history of Judaism in America, from the first arrivals in colonial New Amsterdam through the turn of the 20th century.
Don't miss: the special attention Weisman pays to how America and Judaism influenced each other, such as the economic consequences of Jewish and Christian communities observing the Sabbath on different days of the week and the roles that Jews played on both sides of the Civil War.
Did you know? The first Jewish congregation formed in what would later become the United States dates back to 1654. |
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Stop biting the tail you're chasing : using Buddhist mind training to free yourself from painful emotional patterns
by Anyen
Are emotions our friends or our enemies? Is it possible to free ourselves from emotional conflict? The Buddhist practice of lojong is a way of letting go of attachment to both “positive” and “negative” emotions and leads to profound insight and compassion, unbounded by our habitual reactions. This book provides a set of tools that you can apply in daily life to gradually relieve your own suffering and extend that relief to everyone you encounter.
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Faith : a journey for all
by Jimmy Carter
All his life, President Jimmy Carter has been a courageous exemplar of faith. Now he shares the lessons he learned. In this book, my primary goal is to explore the broader meaning of faith, its far-reaching effect on our lives, and its relationship to past, present, and future events in America and around the world.
As President Carter examines faith’s many meanings, he describes how to accept it, live it, how to doubt and find faith again. A serious and moving reflection from one of America’s most admired and respected citizens.
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Wholeness : winning in life from the inside out
by Touré Roberts
Wholeness, the sophomore book from international thought leader and pastor Touré Roberts is about removing invisible boundaries from our lives that keep us from realizing our highest potential. Roberts brilliantly lays forth the truth that in order to live an outer life without limits, we have to uncover and address the inner limitations that hide in our blindspots.
Presents advice on how to overcome inner fears, insecurities, and regrets about the past, foster a sense of self-acceptance, and have successful and healthy relationships with others
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Practicing Peace
by Pema Chodron
Can there be hope for a peaceful future in times like these? How can we overcome our sense of helplessness when problems seem so big and tensions so strong? Pema Chödrön here shows us how to look deeply at the underlying causes of these tensions and how we really can create a more peaceful world—by starting right where we are and learning to see the seeds of hostility in our hearts. She draws on Buddhist teachings to explore the origins of anger, aggression, hatred, and war, and offers practical techniques all of us can use to work for genuine, lasting peace in our own lives and in whatever circumstances we find ourselves.
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Healing the soul of a woman : How to Overcome Your Emotional Wounds
by Joyce Meyer
A renowned Bible teacher and #1 New York Times best-selling author draws on her own personal history of abuse to counsel women on how to heal emotional wounds and find joy in the redeeming love of Christ. Meyer's positivity comes from living her own journey, and from seeing so many women who don't believe they can fully overcome their pain--or even know where to begin--find the guidance they need in the life-changing wisdom of the Bible.
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| Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I've Loved by Kate BowlerWhat it's about: In her previous book Blessed, Kate Bowler explored the history and theology of the Prosperity Gospel. It's in this same context that she reflects on her diagnosis, at age 35, of Stage IV cancer, and how her impending mortality has affected her own faith.
Read it for: the seemingly effortless way that Bowler weaves her brand of warm, candid humor throughout a book that is as funny as it is bleak and as erudite as it is intimate. |
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| Daring to Hope: Finding God's Goodness in the Broken and the Beautiful by Katie Davis MajorsWhat it is: Katie Davis Majors's second account of her life and missionary work in Uganda (following Kisses from Katie), this time focusing on how the return of one of her adopted children to their biological mother prompted her to begin questioning God for the first time.
Further reading: Kathryn Joyce's The Child Catchers explores the flawed management of many international "orphan" adoptions, which can lead to heartbreaking situations like the one Majors went through. |
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| Martin Luther: The Man Who Rediscovered God and Changed the World by Eric MetaxasWhat it's about: Published to mark the Protestant Reformation's 500th anniversary, this fast-paced, accessible biography explores Martin Luther as a religious reformer but also as a human being.
Reviewers say: “a masterful portrait of a seminal figure" (Booklist).
Don't miss: Eric Metaxas's biographies of other pivotal figures in European Christianity, such as Amazing Grace (about William Wilberforce) and Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy. |
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Barking to the choir : the power of radical kinship
by Greg Boyle
In a nation deeply divided and plagued by poverty and violence, Barking to the Choir offers a snapshot into the challenges and joys of life on the margins. Sergio, arrested at nine, in a gang by twelve, and serving time shortly thereafter, now works with the substance-abuse team at Homeboy to help others find sobriety. Jamal, abandoned by his family when he tried to attend school at age seven, gradually finds forgiveness for his schizophrenic mother. New father Cuco, who never knew his own dad, thinks of a daily adventure on which to take his four-year-old son. These former gang members uplift the soul and reveal how bright life can be when filled with unconditional love and kindness.
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Okayest mom : when God's plan of adoption doubled my family
by Natalie Gwyn
A happy, working wife, already birth mother of two healthy young children -- a boy and a girl -- doubled the size of her family by adopting four Ethiopian children. Why?
Her answer: "God."
Popular blogger NATALIE GWYN has been cited widely for her candid, insightful, often humorous writing on cross-cultural adoptive Christian families (which number more than 4 million). HuffPo has linked to her controversial posts and celebrities like Kathie Lee Gifford have quoted and pictured her on social media. Here Natalie tells her whole mom story, including the only-God-could-do-this backstory.
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A Future of Faith : The Path of Change in Politics and Society
by Pope Francis
Inspiring and insightful, Pope Francis’s views on immigration, poverty, diversity, globalization, and more are borne from his Christian faith and basic humanity. Meeting the challenges of the twenty-first century requires compassion for those in need, a willingness to work towards common goals without domineering other cultures, and the ability to negotiate with trust, respect, and dignity. And for the first time, Pope Francis shares insights into his own personality, and the formation of his faith, including his experience with psychotherapy, and some of the most important women in his upbringing.
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Godless citizens in a godly republic : atheists in American public life
by R. Laurence Moore
Two Cornell University professors examine the stigma that has caused atheists to be marginalized by First Amendment protections, the dramatic rise of atheism in America and the inherent prejudices of a non-secular Constitution that accepts religion as proof of integrity.
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| Higher is Waiting by Tyler PerryWhat it's about: Successful film director and actor Tyler Perry reflects on the people and places of his youth and how they shaped his current faith, his drive to achieve, and his creativity. The lives he describes have more than their fair share of pain and sorrow, but their trials taught a young Perry how to rely on God when dealing with his own challenges.
Read it for: the unexpected yet deeply moving discussion of Perry's relationship with the natural world and the peace he has learned to find in it. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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