The Book That Had a Big Impact on You

Sorry, I can't do just one. You should've seen that coming. 😊

Spiritual: Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster. I've read it more times than I can remember over the last 20 years. Reading again this year and it is fresh and important every time. 

Searching For Sunday by Rachel Held Evans. The first of her books I read. I've since read all of her books, but this hit at a particularly painful season.

Anything by Brian Zahnd.

Racial Justice: So. Many. But the book that began my serious study was The New Jim Crow. The history in that book shattered my protected white perspective and began a journey I am still on. 

History: The Color of Law and Jesus and John Wayne. Each of these gave a history of our country and the white evangelical church that I definitely never learned at school or in church.

Fiction: Just can't narrow. I'll list a few authors that never disappoint: Michael Phillips, Fredrik Backman, Jodi Picoult, Kristen Hannah, Wendell Berry. If I don't know what to read next, I can always go back to them.

I was a reader from a very early age and have always lost myself in the covers of a good story. For a few years in the thick of raising kids, especially teenagers, I found it difficult to concentrate enough to even finish a book. But I missed it and began a journey to become a deep reader again. Little by little, I found my groove again. A comfy chair with a hot cup of tea and a good book is just about my favorite space in the world. And in the last few years, it's also become a place for learning and growth as much as escape.

Let's read books instead of banning them.