Summer Reading List 2023
Summer Reading List of 2023
For many of us, summer is a great time to catch up on reading! The AUMC community is committed to the Christian call to inclusivity and to continually growing in our spiritual journey, which is reflected in many of the books we’ve been reading and sharing. We are excited to share these mini-reviews for books that members of AUMC have found meaningful and would love to hear about what you’ve been reading lately!
God Is A Black Woman
By Christena Cleveland
Review by Aaron Manes
Recently a friend texted me to say that she knew I had liked "Dance of the Divine Dissident" by Sue Monk Kidd and thought I would also enjoy "God Is A Black Woman" by Christena Cleveland. This book reads like a life journal and follows Christena’s story of growing up Black in a white world while discovering that her ideas of God were extremely limited. She finds comfort in her discovery of the Black Madonnas.
Unique to Christina’s story is how she goes on a pilgrimage and interacts with these beautiful representations of grace and mercy. Her own story seems reflected in the faces of the Black Madonnas she encounters. She went through a lot of life moments in this book and it is beautiful how her faith grows in unexpected ways. If you are an audible person, she reads the book there, which I always prefer.
The Beauty of What Remains
By Rabbi Steve Leder
Review by Beth Childs
This book helped me get through the darkest moments of my life. While my 6 year old son Luke was in hospice care and I was 9 months pregnant, I read this book in the hope that I could find some clarity in my all-consuming desperation. Leder discusses his own father’s death and how difficult it was to bear the enormity of his grief, even though he had been counseling and supporting bereaved families for dozens of years. From this perspective, Leder reminds us that “death is a powerful reminder to buy less and do more, live more, travel more, and give more,” to focus on the present, to “stroll, listen, think, breathe, and relish your most sacred, finite, and beautiful blessing—Time.” My son was excellent in savoring the present moment and finding joy in anything that he did, even if it was from his hospital bed while he was literally deathly sick. Leder’s words helped me to be inspired by my own son and the will to live so that I could honor his legacy and enjoy every moment possible with my own family.
The most important and lasting premise from Leder is that we can honor our loved ones by living as good ancestors. “Was she kind? Then let us be kinder. Was he strong? Let us be stronger. Was she generous? Let us give more. Was he forgiving? Let us forgive. Was she courageous? Let us find courage and not be afraid. Did he love laughter? Then let’s lighten up.” If everyone lived the way my son did, with his bravery, his lightness and presence of heart, and kindness, our world would change for the better. This book did not solve my grief, but it did give me new purpose and revival as my daughter was born and I had to live in a world where my son no longer lived. I am so appreciative of the friend who sent this book to me and I recommend it to anyone who is grieving or will eventually grieve (so everybody).
Agatha of Little Neon
By Claire Luchette
Review by Brandi Manes
This novel tells the story of four nuns whose circumstances force them to move from their quiet life in the diocese out into the world. They oversee a halfway house, living alongside the residents and taking jobs in the community. Agatha, the main character, has never known life outside of the sisterhood and has to reckon with who she is all on her own - is this really what she believes? Who is she when she isn’t with her sisters?
This book tackles a lot of important themes surrounding faith, independence, anger, patriarchy, and what it means to ‘do good’ in the world. The four sisters at the center of the book moved me to tears and made me laugh out loud. But the heart of this book, for me, is the writing. Claire Luchette writes beautifully about the difficulty of holding on to what you’ve been taught when the people you care about don’t fit into the narrative. How it feels when the people you’re supposed to trust turn out to be corrupt. The struggle between who you’ve always been and who you think you could be.
“There were times when I did not stop at Amen. I could make the Beatitudes go on and on. There was never enough time to list all the blessed. Blessed are my students, I said, and blessed be their friends; blessed are the quitters; blessed are the nervous; blessed are those who hide; blessed are the messy; blessed are the ones who say 'Oh, that's over my head'; blessed are the late bloomers, and blessed are the foolish; blessed are those who lisp; blessed are the birthday party clowns; blessed are the waitresses; blessed are the awkward; blessed are those who burn the roofs of their mouths because they cannot stand to wait; and blessed are the heartbroken, the ones who haven't arrived at the other side of their pain. Thank you very much. Amen, amen, amen.”
An Untidy Faith: Journeying Back to the Joy of Following Jesus
By Kate Boyd
Review by Amy Smith
Have you, like me, found your faith to be challenged? Have you possibly felt confused, anxious or even angry by so much dissonance in the church, in our communities, and even in our families in relation to it?
I was seeking information from someone who would not tell me what to believe or how to figure it out, but instead provide basic theological information along with biblical references and practical examples that could help me walk through these challenges while holding on to the faith I know and people I love. Kate's book did exactly that. She humbly and authentically shares her experiences as she unpacks what knowing Jesus means to her and the key pieces that she came to realize, through study and faith, were most critical in continuing her walk with Christ. Through reading this book God has reminded of His love for me and ALL of His people. I hope you will check it out!
Divided by Faith
By Michael O. Emerson & Christian Smith
Review by Clelia Peña
The race problem in American churches is unique to the United States. We live in a society where mostly well-intentioned Christians repeatedly subscribe to the same issues that keep us divided by race, socio-economic status, education and culture. In Divided by Faith, Michael Emerson and Christian Smith walk us through the history of how race divisions in the United States became what we see today in the American church.
I should warn you, though, it is not an easy read. As I read about the atrocities in history and lack of action from the Church, I was flabbergasted. Why is it so hard to advocate for liberty and justice for all people? Sadly, I also realized things haven’t changed much in our society.
Reading this book left me with more questions: Is it possible to truly be One Church body? Will we ever be truly One in Christ? When will we all wake up to complete forgiveness and reconciliation?
I believe it all begins with awareness of truth. We can’t fix what we do not understand. We stand at the divide (p.91). And we, as people of faith, need to do something about it. In the words of Emerson & Smith: “Of all people, Christians should be the most active in reaching out to those of other races, instead of accepting the status quo of division and
animosity (p. 65).”
Would we dare to be uncomfortable while we heal?
Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself
By Kristin Neff
Review by Alicia Auping, leader of the All Moms Book Club
Last summer, our All Moms Book Club embarked on a journey of discovery as we read “Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself” by Kristin Neff. We spent eight weeks discussing a chapter or two each week, and I'm glad I took my time reading it because I needed that time to let it sink in and percolate in my consciousness.
I hadn't read many self-help books before, and definitely not any on self-compassion. I didn't even know what self-compassion was, and it sounded like it had the potential to make me squirm. This was a gap in my personal reading and also my vocabulary. Almost every concept and practice introduced was new to me. This was both gratifying and obnoxious. It was gratifying because that's the power of reading in a lot of ways. It was obnoxious because it did make me squirm and revealed the discomfort I have with being self-compassionate and cutting myself some slack.
The book is packed with things I never wanted to think about and didn't think would work. But over a couple of months of slowly digesting it, I found myself accidentally falling into some of the practices. And guess what? I felt better.
As I practiced self-compassion, I began to feel more at peace with myself. I was less critical of my own flaws and more forgiving of my mistakes. I also started to feel more compassion for others, as I realized that we are all in the same boat.
Since reading the book, All Moms has made self-compassion one of our core values. We believe that self-compassion is essential for our mental and emotional health, and we encourage all moms to practice it.
In the Margins: A Transgender Man’s Journey with Scripture
By Shannon T. L. Kearns
Review by Lindsay O’Connor
This powerful memoir-meets-Scripture-study tells the compelling story of a trans man’s unfolding understanding of his identity, blended with his evolving understanding of Scripture. Shannon T. L. Kearns is a former Christian fundamentalist who became the first openly trans man ordained to Old Catholic priesthood. He shares with vulnerability and tenderness about his struggles beginning in childhood as a gender nonconforming person situated in a fundamentalist evangelical context that was heavily focused on traditional gender roles/identities. His journey of becoming was closely tied to the deconstruction of his understanding of Scripture and who God is during a time when “deconstruction” was not yet a buzz word.
Kearns explores ten stories and/or key concepts in the Bible from his perspective as a trans man. He asserts that “…transgender people have unique insights into life and faith that can enrich people who don’t have our experiences of the world.” Even as a cis-het woman, I found that much of Kearns’ deconstruction journey resonated—like Kearns, I have found God to be much better, kinder, and more expansive than I dared to dream earlier in my faith journey. I loved reading his unique perspective on familiar Bible stories and was challenged and encouraged by his prophetic vision, which the Christian church desperately needs. I highly recommend this book, particularly for folks who are deconstructing/reconstructing their faith.
Essential Labor: Mothering as Social Change
By Angela Garbes
Review by Alicia Auping
The pandemic illuminated a long-overlooked truth: Mothering is among the essential work humans do. Every mother I know has felt lonely, exhausted, and/or financially strained during these past few years. There are so many assumptions about care, work, and deservedness when it comes to mothering—what it is and what it can be—and I’ve never seen them addressed like this in a book.
A first-generation Filipino, Garbes places mothering in a global context—the invisible economic engine that has been historically demanded of women of color. She argues that while the labor of raising children is devalued in America, the act of mothering offers the radical potential to create a more equitable society.
It was very comforting to read this reframing of the physically and mentally draining work as opportunities. “Reproductive work,” AKA mothering, is highly skilled labor that impacts society at its core.
For the record, in this book, the work of raising children is referred to as “mothering”—an action that includes people of all genders and nonparents alike. Because, as we all know, it takes a whole village. And the work of our villages can be our most consistent, embodied resistance to patriarchy, white supremacy, ableism, and the exploitations of American capitalism.