Good Soil
Jeff opens this book up by explaining that storytelling in other cultures is less linear and interconnected than Westerners like to imagine. What follows is a memoir of his experience at Princeton Theological Seminary, particularly with The Farminary Project where theology and farming meet. The book includes loosely connected essays about the author’s lessons learned about himself, the earth, God, and culture. I appreciated his exploration of his Chinese-American upbringing, his wrestling with maintaining relationships with his conservative parents after coming out, his experiences of faith, and his journey leading up to and throughout his time as a seminarian. Themes of community, friendship through difference, and actual farming abound. This isn’t my typical choice of a memoir or spiritual nonfiction, but I was pleasantly surprised by the combination and walked away enriched.
Thank you to NetGalley and Convergent Books for the digital review copy of this title. All thoughts are my genuine reading experience.
Some favorite quotes:
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sexual assault, homophobia
