cover image A Plain Life

A Plain Life

Scott Savage. Ballantine Books, $22 (224pp) ISBN 978-0-345-43803-4

The editor of Plain magazine and of A Plain Reader chronicles his latest steps toward living the spiritual values and insights that have marked his life as a conservative Quaker. Recently, Savage walked 120 miles across the state of Ohio to voluntarily turn in his driver's license. The eight-day trek confirmed a belief that he once had expressed to an Amish neighbor who was curious about Savage's switch from cars to horse and buggy: ""I told him... that I had become willing with the help of the Holy Spirit to trade some convenience for the privilege of becoming more responsible for the place where I live."" As he walks, he ponders Jesus' beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount, interweaving commentaries, personal reflections and passing observations to illuminate our utter dependence on God. Thus, Savage replaces the King James version of the first beatitude (""Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven"") with what he says is a ""little more precise"" New English Bible translation: ""How blest are those who know that they are poor; the kingdom of Heaven is theirs."" Although his walk itself comes across more as a structuring device than as a real journey, this ""plain Christian's"" peripatetic musings on how to live a whole and honest life could benefit readers of all beliefs and lifestyles. (Mar.)