As I was reading The Return of the Prodigal Son earlier this summer, my husband was reading this book of prayers by Nouwen. there were a couple of mornings when he’d read something aloud to me and I knew this would be my next contemplative nonfiction pick. I had to force myself to go slowly through this because each of the prayers is only a page or two long. It would have been easy to zip through this without giving it a whole lot of thought. Instead, I read only 1-2 prayers per day, often reading them more than once and letting the author’s words simmer in my soul.

The Anxious Generation is one of the most thought-provoking nonfiction books I’ve read in a long time. The author’s primary question is why has there been a significant rise in the occurrence of anxiety and depression in Gen Z? He has theories.

Nouwen is one of my favorite writers of spiritual nonfiction. His work is self-revealing and reflective. He takes a hard look at himself, his faults, his failures, his insecurities, and then always points himself back to being beloved by God. I always find myself relating to his doubts and questions, inspired by his conclusions, and challenged by his prayers.

I used to be so intimidated by C.S. Lewis, not his Chronicles of Narnia, of course, but the Space trilogy and anything more, let’s say, academic. But a few years ago I read, A Grief Observed, and last year I picked up The Problem of Pain for about the 10th time (never finishing it before) and it finally worked for me. Somehow I waded through and saw the gems hidden inside. Reflections on the Psalms was the same.

I've been following David Gate's work for several years on Instagram. His poetry is sparse and simple while profound. He explores everyday life, justice, home, and care for our fellow humans. I'm a fan. So when Convergent Books reached out with a digital review copy of this, of course I rushed to NetGalley to download it. Thank you!

In this memoir, Hua Hsu opens with stories as the child of Taiwanese immigrants in the Silicon Valley. He writes about his conception of “cool,” the way he interacted with his parents, and eventually shares about his college at Cal Berkeley. 

This was a worthwhile read. It had been sitting on my shelf for the last 10 years (since graduate school where it was on a “further reading” list for a theology course).

I've been sitting on a review for this for a while. There were portions of this that were hard to wrap my head around, but the format of the book as a conversation between a young man and an older philosopher helped.

So you’ve always thought of yourself as a bit of a perfectionist, but you don’t fit in the “type-A” image of one. Rejoice! This book represents more than the stereotypes. See my results to the author’s quiz below. I’m a highly relational (albeit still introverted), messy procrastinator. Feels accurate.

This book is all about apprenticeship and formation in the Way of Jesus. The author makes a claim that I agree with: all of us are being formed and if we aren’t intentional about what those influences are, we may be shaped in ways we never desired.

Riveting.

I don't typically read history or biographies, but full disclosure, I am an ordained minister in the Foursquare Church, founded by Sister Aimee. When I saw this book, I immediately wanted to read an "outsider's" perspective.

A slim volume of encouragement, Take What You Need, combines some of the concepts in Kolber’s other works (Try Softer and Strong Like Water) into a short, poetic, and reflective read.

This was deep and heavy. It took a significant amount of brain power to follow and I think I would have absorbed it better in print than on audio, but this was the only format my library had available. The narration was also a bit monotone, so that did not help.

I’m usually a bit slow with reading audiobooks. I don’t have a lot of uninterrupted time to listen, but I made time for this one. I couldn’t look away. The narration is superb and this memoir is shared with such heart and earnestness.

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.

For any and all of us who find ourselves wanting to cut and run when life gets hard, when things don't go our way, or we are in a space of discomfort, Here by Lydia Sohn is for us.

This was a solid Christian nonfiction read, full of personal anecdotes and the truth of the love of God.