Actors, politicians, scientists, and other public figures reveal how their faith has shaped them in these intimate interviews. Among other topics, Levenson (In God’s Grip), an Episcopal priest and former spiritual adviser to George H.W. Bush, discusses with his subjects how belief helped them endure loss. For example, reporter Brit Hume discusses how his son’s suicide—a loss that Hume likens to “an amputation”—inspired him “to try to be mindful of the love that God has bestowed on us all,” while sports announcer Jim Nantz recalls how he came to terms with his father’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis through prayer. Condoleezza Rice, Denzel Washington, and Nikki Haley likewise cite prayer as a central factor in their decision-making, and Admiral William H. McRaven discusses how he tried to live by Christian morals while coordinating military strategy. Of inevitable civilian casualties and the need to harm “evil people so that the good people can continue to be good,” McRaven acknowledges, “all I can do is pray that I get it right as often as I can, and do, also pray that God forgives me when I get it wrong.” While there’s not much here that’s surprising or potentially controversial (there’s little discussion of doubt, for instance), the sincerity with which each interview subject details their personal faith is refreshing, and the differing perspectives on complex issues like evil and altruism are enlightening. The result is an openhearted testament to the power of religious belief in a chaotic world. (Oct.)

Reviewed on 08/22/2025 | Details & Permalink

Historian Hempton (Evangelical Disenchantment) provides an intricate and expansive history of 500 centuries of religious change resulting from clashes between Christianity and various “transnational networks.” He begins with how printing networks helped Protestantism proliferate across Europe in the 1500s as Martin Luther’s accessible writing and Lutheran hymn books brought German Reformation ideals to a “wider public consciousness.” Later sections analyze how digital media networks have fostered the rise of pastors with online platforms and consumer-based church networks that appeal directly to believers. (The effects of such changes are less clear because the digital revolution is ongoing, the author notes, but seem to suggest a weakening of traditional denominational Christianity, and a religion that may lack the “distinctive ritual” and historic continuity to maintain its appeal.) Along the way, Hepworth highlights how the Roman Catholic Jesuit Order established “the first great network” of colleges and schools across early modern Europe, women’s roles in shaping the Methodist missionary movement in the 20th century, and the international spread of “networked churches” like the Redeemed Christian Church of God. Drawing on fine-grained research and thorough analysis, the author insightfully details what’s lost and gained when tradition meets modernity, and unspools a vivid narrative of how modern Christianity has taken shape. Religious scholars will be edified. (Sept.)

Reviewed on 08/15/2025 | Details & Permalink

King, the only daughter of Jim Bob Duggar’s sister Deanna, debuts with an unvarnished account of the disorder and abuse that went on behind the scenes of the 2008–2015 TV show 19 Kids and Counting. King paints her uncle Jim Bob as a ruthless patriarch who hid behind his squeaky-clean Christian image while exploiting the Duggar name for fame and profit and brushing aside anything that might stand in the way, including his oldest son Josh’s molestation of his sisters. The author, meanwhile, was framed on the show as “crazy cousin Amy” for listening to “ungodly” music and otherwise being “a normal teenage girl.” Against that backdrop, King traces how she evolved from a “black sheep” dismayed by her inability to conform to an empowered “holy disruptor” who sought to break “toxic cycles” of secrecy and abuse by standing up for her values (including by confronting her cousin Josh over his sex abuse crimes). While the prose can be blunt, the author sheds light on the hypocrisies that can be hidden within restrictive forms of Christianity, making important points about unlinking true faith from obedience. It’s a shocking look at what was once one of America’s most public Christian families. (Oct.)

Reviewed on 08/15/2025 | Details & Permalink

Data analyst Felder maps core concepts from the 10,000-year-old African spiritual system of Ifá onto contemporary notions of self-care and mutual aid in her intimate if scattered debut. Noting that the spiritual tradition has been “flattened” by “colonial mistranslations” that liken it to Abrahamic faiths, she centers its emphasis on “deciphering information from the natural world to inform our physical, mental, and spiritual lives.” From there, Felder describes how Ifá’s five central blessings—for longevity, wealth, marriage, children, and “victory over negative forces”—have been innovated across the Black diaspora. For example, aiku—the blessing of longevity—takes shape through Indigenous seed keeping, urban farming, and other sustainable practices that let Black people control how food is produced in their communities, connecting with the Earth and healing their bodies in the process. (The flexibility of such adaptive practices, Felder argues, also ensures longevity of the Ifá tradition itself.) Though some readers may find Felder’s interpretations selective and too closely hewn to her personal experiences (the chapter on wealth and abundance stitches in recollections of her own childhood holiday meals without making clear how they bear on the blessing of wealth), her enthusiasm for “the beauty and complexity of Black life and culture” is unfailingly enthusiastic and expansive. The result is an insightful if imperfect ode to the richness of Black spiritual traditions. (Oct.)

Reviewed on 08/15/2025 | Details & Permalink

Seidl (Finding Rest), founder of the Veritas Creative, a digital media consulting firm, brings his religious convictions to bear on this resonant account of recovering from alcoholism. He opens with his rock-bottom moment of getting drunk on a 2023 trip with his wife and lying about it, then rewinds to trace how his drinking developed as a coping mechanism for chronic overwhelm and the lingering effects of childhood trauma. Rather than seek treatment at Alcoholics Anonymous—partly because of its idea that one is always an alcoholic—he underwent a process of “messy sanctification” that helped him draw closer to Christ while becoming more aware of his sins. The steps involved include relying on prayer for guidance; discovering his divinely given passions, skills, and calling; sharing his sins in community settings; and obeying God’s wishes. Despite a few awkward attempts to bolster his points with scripture (“Are you drinking in a way that brings God glory?” he asks ironically at one point), Seidl’s candid and powerful storytelling buttresses his trenchant critiques of a church culture that trafficks in binary views of religious salvation while ignoring believers who continue to struggle with addiction after finding God. Those seeking a faith-based path through alcoholism will find it here. (Oct.)

Reviewed on 08/15/2025 | Details & Permalink

Reading is “a decidedly spiritual discipline” that expands one’s world, spurs personal growth, and fosters connection with God and others, according to this resonant meditation from Crosby (The Language of the Soul), president of the Evangelical Christian Publishing Association. Drawing from his 40 years in the publishing industry and the work of such Christian authors as C.S. Lewis and Philip Yancey, Crosby begins the account with suggestions for cultivating a regular reading practice. They include designating a specific time of day to read, using a format that works best, discussing books with others, and maintaining a ”posture of curiosity, openness, and engagement” when reading. After offering tips on reading scripture, he turns to other genres, highlighting fiction’s ability to evoke empathy and how poetry draws attention to the miraculousness in ordinary moments. Suffused by genuine passion for the written word and packed with reading lists (including scripture guides), Crosby’s account convincingly frames reading as a means of deepening one’s faith by learning more about God as well as the perspectives of secular writers who are likewise “created in the image of God” and “wrestle with many of the same questions we do.” Christian bookworms will want to dive in. (Oct.)

Reviewed on 08/15/2025 | Details & Permalink

Pastor Brown (The Ache for Meaning) draws from the apostle Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians for this straightforward guide to “creat[ing] the conditions where our souls can flourish.” Expounding on Paul’s instructions to “love one another... aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, to work with your hands”—the author explains why loving fellow believers creates a strong church community; how cutting out unnecessary distractions makes room for “peace and tranquility”; why narrowing one’s focus lets one cultivate the “gifts that God puts within our care and attention”; and how working with one’s hands—taken here to mean doing personally meaningful work—helps make “something good and beautiful out of the world that God created.” Such advice, the author argues, “cuts through circumstances, traversing time and space” in addressing core human needs neglected in today’s hectic, online world. Brown builds a robust case supported by scripture and secular sources, even if he’s less insightful on how readers might actually go about creating the conditions for their flourishing. Still, believers seeking to recenter themselves in a stressful world will find inspiration here. (Oct.)

Reviewed on 08/15/2025 | Details & Permalink

Buchdahl debuts with an affecting account of becoming the first ordained Asian American rabbi. Born in 1972 to a Jewish American father and Korean mother, Buchdahl grew up in her father’s hometown of Tacoma, Wash., finding in its small Jewish community a visceral sense of meaning (prayer was “a vocalization of longing, release, pain, and praise that bypassed the intellect and channeled to every nerve ending in my body”). She traces a rocky path to becoming a rabbi that included encountering unwelcoming Jewish groups in college and beyond (some questioned the validity of her patrilineal Jewish heritage; others “took one look at my face and questioned how I could possibly be a real Jew”). She became a mother before being ordained as a cantor in 1999 and as a rabbi in 2001. The author movingly draws on her experience to debunk race-based notions of Judaism (as far back as the Torah’s description of those fleeing Egypt as a “mixed multitude,” Jews have “never been just one color”), framing the faith as a family bound “by something stronger than blood... by our covenant with God, an ancient call to repair the world.” In a moment of rising social division, racism, and antisemitism, this stirring call for unity resonates. (Oct.)

Reviewed on 08/08/2025 | Details & Permalink

In this candid memoir, former pro football player Forté (My Hair Can) opens up about faith, his NFL career, and life afterward. The son of a former college football player, Forté fell in love with the sport at age seven in a way that felt almost preordained (“I recognized that the Lord had blessed me with a talent for football and the ability to use it”). After playing through high school and at Tulane—staying positive during the chaotic aftermath of hurricane Katrina when the team relocated to Texas by keeping his NFL dreams front of mind—he was drafted by the Chicago Bears in 2008 and then traded to the New York Jets in 2016. Forté remained in the NFL for 10 seasons through injuries and other setbacks and despite the league’s tendency to burn out players. He attributes his success to his stick-to-itiveness, willingness to sacrifice for long-term growth, and ability to pivot with the knowledge that God had bigger plans for him than professional sports. This came in handy after he retired from the league at 32 and dedicated himself to organizations focused on reducing gun violence. While Forté offers some advice that feels rote (“To achieve uncommon results, you must do uncommon things”), his humility and vulnerability support valuable faith-based insights drawn from across his career. Fans will find this worth a look. (Oct.)

Reviewed on 08/08/2025 | Details & Permalink

Meditation teacher Goldberg (Roadsigns) provides a thought-provoking exploration of karma and what it means to live according to its logic. He traces the term from its original meaning as the correct performance of ritual to curry favor with the gods, to its evolution in Indian culture into the notion that people reap what they sow as part of a just cosmic order. Chronicling its introduction into the West, he notes that karmic influences shaped the thought of Greek philosophers like Pythagoras and were later absorbed into such movements as German idealism, British romanticism, American transcendentalism, and the New Thought movement, which ultimately helped popularize the concept of karma in the United States and beyond. This popularization, Goldberg notes, has spawned erroneous notions of karma as a kind of inescapable destiny; in reality it’s “modifiable,” and, like a bank account, can be balanced. The author shares solid advice on boosting karma through sensible practices like serving others and forgiving oneself (which, he argues, drives home moral lessons more effectively than self-flagellation), though practices like mind-shifting, or replacing negative thoughts with more positive ones—which stems from the idea that, when it comes to karma, thoughts count nearly as much as actions—may be tougher for some readers to swallow. Still, it’s a nuanced and perceptive assessment of an oft-misunderstood spiritual concept. (Oct.)

Reviewed on 08/08/2025 | Details & Permalink