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 Spirituality and ReligionJuly 2022 |
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| What We Wish Were True: Reflections on Nurturing Life and Facing Death by Tallu Schuyler QuinnWhat it is: a candid and moving collection of essays reflecting on faith, life, and loss while making peace with terminal disease.
Reviewers say: What We Wish Were True is "a gentle, uplifting contribution to the literature of death and dying" and "a prayer to life" (Kirkus Reviews).
About the author: Minister and Union Theological Seminary graduate Tallu Schuyler Quinn was the founder of the Nashville Food Project, a nonprofit working to build community and address local food insecurity. She died of cancer in February 2022. |
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| Do I Stay Christian? A Guide for the Doubters, the Disappointed, and the Disillusioned by Brian D. McLarenWhat it's about: how to navigate the complexities of doubt and disillusionment as a Christian and meet the questions that arise without fear.
Why you might like it: Although the title suggests a focus on leaving, the author doesn't urge readers to leave or stay, only to pursue the right course of action for them after careful evaluation.
Reviewers say: "This earnest inquiry solidifies McLaren’s place as one of the more thoughtful interrogators of modern Christianity" (Publishers Weekly). |
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| Wild Witchcraft: Folk Herbalism, Garden Magic, and Foraging for Spells, Rituals, and Remedies by Rebecca BeyerWhat it's about: the Wiccan approach to herbalism, with accessible advice for reconnecting with nature, foraging, and cultivating your own garden.
What makes it unique: the in-depth exploration of historical herbal lore across West African, Native American, Anglo-Saxon, and Appalachian folk traditions.
Topics include: regionally and seasonally appropriate gardening; responsibly gathering wild plants; poison gardens. |
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| It's Not You, It's Everything: What Our Pain Reveals About the Anxious Pursuit of the... by Eric MintonWhat it is: an incisive appeal to readers who feel burnt out and overwhelmed by the demands of their personal, professional, and spiritual lives to embrace "radical okayness" and resist the pressure to always do more, have more, and be more.
Read it for: the persuasive case for learning to evaluate your struggles as part of wider social structures; the examination of modern American Christianity in the shadow of capitalism.
About the author: Eric Minton is a marriage and family therapist with a Baptist minister background who coaches pastors and business leaders on the topics listed above and regularly writes for Baptist News. |
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| Truth's Table: Black Women's Musings on Life, Love, and Liberation by Ekemini Uwan, Christina Edmondson, and Michelle HigginsWhat it's about: Black Christian women's perspectives on "religion, relationships, and race" (Publishers Weekly).
Read it for: the accessible writing that explores a wide variety of thought-provoking theological topics, from American religious history to their own personal experiences.
About the authors: Theologian Ekemini Uwan, trauma therapist and educator Christina Edmondson, and minister Michelle Higgins co-host the titular Truth's Table podcast. |
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| Two Billion Caliphs: A Vision of a Muslim Future by Haroon MoghulWhat it is: a candid and thought-provoking study of the origins and possible future of Islam by the author of How to Be a Muslim.
Is it for you? Though Haroon Moghul is deeply invested in Islam and his identity as a Muslim, he doesn't shy away from taking contrarian stances on controversial topics.
Try this next: Love Thy Neighbor by Ayaz Virji; Demystifying Shariah by Sumbul Ali-Karamali. |
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Advice Not Given: A Guide to Getting Over Yourself
by Mark Epstein
What it's about: the combined positive effects of Buddhist teachings and psychotherapy techniques on an individual's struggles with self-doubt and unrealized potential.
Topics include: managing the ego, coping with destabilizing life events, and the importance of taking advice but drawing your own conclusions from it.
About the author: Mark Epstein is a graduate of Harvard Medical School and has published other books on Buddhism and psychology, such as Going to Pieces Without Falling Apart and The Trauma of Everyday Life.
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| The Religious Revolution: The Birth of Modern Spirituality, 1848-1898 by Dominic GreenWhat it is: a sweeping and richly detailed exploration of the social, philosophical, and scientific forces that radically reshaped the Western world's understanding of and relationship with religion in the second half of the 19th century.
Topics include: Transcendentalism, Spiritualism, nationalism, and Darwinism.
You might also like: Christian Citizens by Elizabeth L. Jemison; Kingdom of Nauvoo by Benjamin E. Park; American Sage by Barry M. Andrews. |
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| This Book Won't Make You Happy: Eight Keys to Finding True Contentment by Niro Feliciano, LCSWWhat's inside: an enlightening look at the differences between happiness and contentment, with suggestions for how to distinguish between the two, and why that distinction matters.
Why you might like it: Author Niro Feliciano discusses these topics as they relate to her Christian faith, but the well-organized advice presented here will benefit readers of all (or no) religions.
Reviewers say: "This witty and insightful guide elevates keeping it real to a new level" (Publishers Weekly). |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Rolling Meadows Library
3110 Martin Lane
Rolling Meadows, Illinois 60008
(847) 259-6050rmlib.org |
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