Format Read: Egalley
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: September 24, 2012
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Blurb from goodreads:
Ogun Holder knew full well the Bible story of Jonah and the whale. His intellectual understanding of the tale led him to believe that running from God was futile. But because he had never run from God before, he thought he d try it anyway. Spoiler Alert: It didn't work.
Holder's journey begins with a pious but questioning childhood filled with mandatory church attendance and boisterous congregants. His road leads to a teenage rebellion, and then to a collegiate crisis of faith. He seems to hit a dead end in his 30s as a responsible grown-up until he paves a new path to Divine self. It's a path he's still walking.
Readers will relate to the honesty and humor in the mash-up of emotions, ideas and experiences Holder shares about parenting, spirituality, relationships and theology. When taken to heart, these rants might, in fact, lead you to your own revelations.
Bea's Thoughts:
I have always had an interest in religion and learning about other religions. I was in fact a religion major at college and have retained an interest ever since. Periodically I find a religious book I want to read for my own growth or education and the blurb for this book caught my eye. I enjoy a well-written rant and hoped that this book would contain lots of rants that did eventually lead to revelations.
Holder has an easy, humorous style that is easy to read as he talks about his religious journey and his path to becoming a Unity minister. Every person's journey is personal and individual but other people can usually learn from it. Sadly, Holder tends to gloss over the personal details and give us just surface information, reducing the impact of his tale. I did learn a lot about the Unity religion which was worthwhile but I wish there had been more depth to Holder's journey and perhaps a little less about the religion. Holder gives stories from his life as examples of religious principles or mistakes that he or his wife have made but they tended to be glossy and light on emotion. Holder's stories did not lead to any revelations for me nor was there anything that I would consider to be a rant in the book but it was a pleasant read and educational.
I'm glad that you found this to be a pretty good book. I'm not much of a religious person, so I'm not sure if it is something that I would normally pick up. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on it.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds interesting, but I think that, like you, I would want more personal and emotional revelations as a way of deepening my understanding of the man and his faith.
ReplyDelete