For example, I questioned her portrayals of both Martin Luther and Paul, which I felt were suspiciously uncomplicated. I did, though, find my brow wrinkling a few times. I found her insights on grace and resurrection compelling. This book is by turns funny, wrenching, and always honest.

Nadia's journey out of the church of her childhood, wandering in the diaspora, and eventual home in the Lutheran church, all take a back seat to her stories about what she learned, how she learned, and how hard and annoying it was to learn it all. This isn't a tidy narrative, it's a tired and cranky one, and for that I loved it.

Nadia has the critical element to be a good memoirist that many lack: the honesty and willingness to portray herself as an a-hole on the page. This is not a happy sappy doll recovery narrative, as it easily could have been. But in my current reading frenzy for short books, this is one I pulled off the shelf, dusted off, and read. I found a copy of my own and returned hers mine sat on my shelf. For that, I am thankful to have read this.Ī friend lent me her copy long ago, and it sat on my shelf. This is a good read for people who are keen to learn more about the church on the margins. Somehow, Nadia still finds Jesus speaking to her through them and finds something to love and appreciate about them. I was surprised by her encounters with many people quite different from her. I was challenged by her church and her way of ministering to the people she finds herself with. We lose track of where it started and where its going in the middle. Still, there is something lacking to the journey of this book. The content is eloquent and the style is reminiscent of Anne Lammott. But after a certain point, the book hits a monotonous slump - chapters that follow the same pattern over and over again. She brings new and dynamic readings to the text she exegetes in this book. Instead she has woven together pieces of her work as a minister and the stories of her church. She touches on both at first, but only briefly. I was a little letdown to learn this book does not hit on what we find most interesting about Nadia - her own personal journey and the journey of her church. This book is a challenge for anyone who, like me, as settled in to 'mainstream' church life, pushing us ever farther to the boundaries and margins, the places where Jesus was most comfortable. What's not to love about her writing style? Her thoughts on faith and the life of her church are beautiful, interesting and fresh. Cantankerous, snarky and sarcastic, my three go-to forms of communication.

Cranky beautiful faith