memoir
Tailings: A Memoir, by Kaethe Schwehn
Kaethe Schwehn's memoir of loss, quest, and initiation begins by introducing the special spiritual geography of Holden Village.
reviewed by Shirley Hershey Showalter
Change of Heart, by Jeanne Bishop
When Jeanne Bishop learned of her sister's murder, she found herself saying aloud, "I don't want to hate anybody."
reviewed by Heidi Haverkamp
A Year of Biblical Womanhood and Sabbath in the Suburbs
In a guinea pig memoir, the intrepid narrator tries on a practice for a period of time, often a year, in the hope that the project will lead to personal or prophetic insight, renewed hope for the future—and a book deal.
reviewed by Bromleigh McCleneghan
Does This Church Make Me Look Fat? by Rhoda Janzen
"Isn’t that an off-brand religion?” One of my son’s soon-to-be-relatives asked this question when he was introduced as having grown up in a Mennonite family.
If Mennonites are off-brand to many Americans, then Pentecostals might be known as firebrands. The average person knows very little about either faith. Rhoda Janzen, who has moved from the former to the latter, brings awareness to both.
reviewed by Shirley Hershey Showalter
"Only old people write their memoirs"
I talked to Leymah Gbowee
about the writing of her memoir of the Liberian Women's Mass Action for Peace,
Mighty Be Our Powers.
Being Hauerwas
Why would anyone want to read a theologian's memoir? The answer is not immediately self-evident. One can admire a thinker or an artist and still not be drawn to the person's life story.