Four wildly talented Minnesota-based writer friends of mine either just published or are about to publish spectacular books that you will love:
Have you ever had a moment of feeling alone in your marriage? Have you ever found love and community in the most unexpected of places? Stina Kielsmeier-Cook wrote a stunning memoir, Blessed Are the Nones, about finding herself in a mixed-faith marriage and struggling with feeling spiritually single until stumbling upon companionship with some kick ass nuns down the street. I was lucky enough to be an early reader and cheerleader of this project. It is a brave and beautiful story that I think you’ll enjoy.
Caren Stelson‘s A Bowl Full of Peace is a heart-breaking and stunning picture book for kids about Sachiko, a Nagasaki bomb survivor, and her path toward peace. I sobbed the first time I read it and would highly recommend it to parents and teachers alike. A bowl belonging to Sachiko’s grandmother survived the bombing and invites us to consider what we are actively putting into our own bowls to fill them with peace.
Lee Ann M Pomrenke is a fantastic pastor and mother among many other things. Embodied: Clergy Women and the Solidarity of a Mothering God is for clergy who are also mothers, with powerful encouragement to share. There is beauty in the tension. Stories worthy of tears, chuckles and groans from the lives of “clergy mamas” fill the pages as Lee Ann confronts the assumptions people make about mothers who lead. Lee Ann’s theology is a breath of fresh air, making the book perfect for folks who are hungry for some feminine images of divine love.
