Spirituality and Religion
January 2021

Recent Releases
Our Only Home: A Climate Appeal to the World
by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Franz Alt

What it is: a concise, issue-oriented plea to politicians and other powerful decision-makers to rise to the challenge of fighting climate change. 

Why you might like it: A hopeful, conversational tone make a sometimes overwhelming topic feel more approachable.

Don't miss: the discussion of the work being done by a new generation of climate activists like Elsa Mengistu, Xiye Bastida, Greta Thunberg, and Jamie Margolin. 
The Blessing and the Curse: The Jewish People and Their Books in the Twentieth Century
by Adam Kirsch

What it's about: Judaism in the 20th century, explained through seminal works of Jewish literature from around the world.

Authors featured: Martin Buber, Abraham Heschel, Saul Bellow, Grace Paley, and Tony Kushner.


Try this next: Einstein and the Rabbi by Naomi Levy, about the remarkable letters exchanged between the famous Jewish scientist and Rabbi Robert Marcus and their discussions of both social and spiritual matters. 
Empty out the negative : make room for more joy, greater confidence, and new levels of influence
by Joel Osteen

A #1 New York Times best-selling author and Lakewood Church pastor aims to help people to release the negative thoughts and feelings that are weighing them down
The Bible With and Without Jesus: How Jews and Christians Read the Same Stories...
by Amy-Jill Levine and Marc Zvi Brettler

What it is: an accessible and thought-provoking comparative study of the scriptures shared by Judaism and Christianity and the different interpretations that that both faiths bring to them.

What makes it unique: the emphasis placed on historical and social context, and how it can affect the way a text is understood by a given culture.  

You might also like: The Islamic Jesus by Mustafa Akyol; The Book of the People by A.N. Wilson.
When women pray : 10 women of the Bible who changed the world through prayer
by T. D. Jakes

"Through exploring the lives of 10 prayer-filled women of the Bible, Bishop Jakes emphasizes the life-changing power that women have when they find their identity, their strength, their healing, and their voices in Christ"
Focus on: Memoir
Toil & Trouble
by Augusten Burroughs

What it is: the candid and darkly humorous account of the author's experiences with ritual and his family's relationship with witchcraft and the supernatural.

Who it's for: Burroughs fans; anyone interested in the informal ways that beliefs from the past can find their way into the present.

About the author: Writer Augusten Burroughs has published essays, fiction, and nonfiction, and is best known for his memoirs Running With Scissors and Dry.
My story
by Elizabeth Smart

Speaking out for the first time, the daughter of a close-knit Mormon family, who was held captive and repeatedly raped, recounts the constant fear she endured, her courageous determination to maintain hope, her dramatic escape and her transformation from victim to advocate. 250,000 first printing.
Left to tell [electronic resource] : discovering God amidst the Rwandan holocaust
by Immaculée Ilibagiza

Presents the true story of a woman who endures the murder of her family as a result of genocide in Rwanda and turns to prayer for strength, love, and forgiveness.
Waking up in heaven : a true story of brokenness, heaven, and life again
by Crystal McVea

Recounts the story of a young mother who underwent an intense near-death experience after she became unresponsive during a medical emergency, as she discusses the hardships of her past and the impact of the experience on her life
Higher is Waiting
by Tyler Perry

What it's about: Successful film director and actor Tyler Perry reflects on the people and places of his youth and how they shaped his current faith, his drive to achieve, and his creativity. The lives he describes have more than their fair share of pain and sorrow, but their trials taught a young Perry how to rely on God when dealing with his own challenges.

Read it for: the unexpected yet deeply moving discussion of Perry's relationship with the natural world and the peace he has learned to find in it.  
Contact your librarian for more great books!