Just walked in the door ~ Still

Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis ~ by Lauren F. Winner, 2012, memoir

Synopsis:  In the critically acclaimed memoir Girl Meets God, Lauren F. Winner chronicled her sojourn from Judaism to Christianity.  Now, in Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis, Winner describes how experiences of loss and failure unexpectedly slam her into a wall of doubt and spiritual despair:  “My belief has faltered, my sense of God’s closeness has grown strained, my efforts at living in accord with what I take to be the call of the gospel have come undone.”

Witty, relatable, and fiercely honest, Winner lays bare her experience of what she calls the “middle” of the spiritual life.  In elegant and spare prose, she explores why — in the midst of the overwhelming anxiety, loneliness, and boredom of her deepest questioning about where (or if) God is — the Christian story still explains who she is better than any other story she’s ever known.  Still is an absorbing meditation combining literary grace with spiritual wisdom.  It is sure to resonate with anyone looking to sustain a spiritual life in the midst of real life.

This book arrived in the mail today.  A couple of weeks ago, while waiting for this book to arrive, I got Girl Meets God (2002) from the library.  I wanted to read it first, and now I have the next installment of her faith journey at hand.  And, hey, she inscribed this fresh-off-the-presses book to me before mailing it.  See?

Thanks, Lauren.  I've already printed out the study guide and plan to go through it thoughtfully, day by day.