Books for the dark night
The Century invited people to reflect on a book that helped them at a low point in their faith journey. Their replies are linked below.
Carol Zaleski: The appeal of Abandonment to Divine Providence is its simple, lyrical repetition of a single idea: whatever happens is the will of God.
Phyllis Tickle: When I was 13, my pastor slipped me Glenn Clark's The Soul's Sincere Desire. Within three pages, I knew I had a soul.
Christian Wiman: Instead of sitting down to rage at a blank page again, I grabbed a copy of Don Quixote. Three days later, the ice of time had cracked.
Marilyn McEntyre: I was 29, agonizing over a decision, when I came upon a little book by Robert Ochs.
Cleophus LaRue: Princeton Theological Seminary can be a lonely place for an African American professor. During a difficult period, I saw Isabel Wilkerson on PBS.
Paula Huston: Morton Kelsey showed me that I was under a spell that needed to be broken.
Gregory Wolfe: Just when I was feeling despondent, I was asked to review a book by Luigi Giussani. His rhetoric both bamboozled and mesmerized me.
Shawnthea Monroe: I kept quiet about my faith for fear of embarrassment. Then I read Anne Lamott, and suddenly I wasn't so alone.
