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Spirituality and Religion July 2026 |
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| Beyond Wellness: How Restoring the Religious Roots of Spiritual Practices Can Heal Us by Liz BucarChallenging our contemporary fixation on “wellness” (along with the many promises made by the attendant industry), this guide traces ma variety of self-care ideas back to their religious and spiritual traditions. Looking beyond self-optimization toward deeper questions of meaning, ethics, and caring for those around us, readers are encouraged to take old practices and make them their own. |
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| Love Thy Stranger: How the Teachings of Jesus Transformed the Moral Conscience... by Bart D. EhrmanBiblical 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. |
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| We Mend with Gold: An Immigrant Daughter's Reckoning with American Christianity by Kristin T. LeeIn this searching debut, physician Kristin T. Lee draws on the Japanese art of kintsugi to reflect on her own Christian faith -- broken and reshaped after growing up in a strict immigrant church setting. Weaving personal story with theology, she explores what it means to question inherited beliefs and to piece together something more expansive and truer to her lived experience. |
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| Beyond Life and Death: The Way of True Freedom by Jet LiBest 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. |
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| Engaged Compassion: Seven Practices to Cultivate Resilience, Connection, and a... by Lobsang Tenzin Negi, PhD; foreword by His Holiness the DaLai LamaRooted 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. |
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| Malcolm in the Desert: Wisdom from the Spiritual Transformation of Malcolm X by Ilyasah ShabazzWritten 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. |
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| Reality in Ruins: How Conspiracy Theory Became an American Evangelical Crisis by Jared Stacy, PhDIn 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. |
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| Everything in Color: A Love Story by Stephanie StalveyIn 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. |
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| The Crooked Places Made Straight: Reflections on the Moral Meaning of America by Raphael G. WarnockIn 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. |
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| A God-Shaped Nation: Five Hundred Years of Religion in America by Brook Wilensky-LanfordIn 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. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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