Three Reviews Coming in Publishers Weekly on Monday, January 15

-- Publishers Weekly, 12/13/2006

Buddha Is as Buddha Does: A Practical Guide to Enlightened Living
Lama Surya Das. Harper San Francisco, $23.95 (288p) ISBN 978-0-06-074729-9

The much-published author and respected Tibetan Buddhist teacher offers a guide for spiritual development based on the paramitas, traditional Buddhist teachings. The Sanskrit term is usually translated as "perfections," but the practices are best understood as a set of virtuous actions. An accomplished Western interpreter of the Tibetan branch of Buddhism, which has its arcane aspects, Surya Das explains each of the 10 virtues, offering numerous exercises and tips to apply his teaching. This is all good and firmly grounded in traditional stories and the examples of historical figures in Buddhism. Surya Das also offers examples of Westerners who embody these virtues, from the Catholic saint Damien, who worked with lepers on the Hawaiian island of Molokai, to Oprah Winfrey, a model of shrewd and skillful action. While the material is helpful, the exposition rambles and is often hard to follow. Some individual chapters read as though they were pasted together. Quotes from non-Buddhist famous figures are thrown in like salt ("Mark Twain, one of my favorite American authors, said…"). Other authors, particularly Sylvia Boorstein, have done more engaging and readable treatments on the 10 virtues. This underedited volume requires patience to absorb. (Apr.)

Perversion of Power: Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church
Mary Gail Frawley-O'Dea. Vanderbilt Univ. Press, $24.95 paper (352p) ISBN 978-0-8265-1547-6

Frawley-O'Dea, a clinical psychologist who has worked with victims of sexual abuse, examines the Catholic clergy sexual-abuse crisis in this well-documented compendium that incorporates her analysis of what went wrong. The co-author of Treating the Adult Survivor of Childhood Sexual Abuse speaks both as a professional and as a Catholic whose relationship with the church was affected by the crisis. (She now attends an Episcopal church.) Contributing factors she identifies include Catholic teachings about the status of bishops and acceptable sexual behaviors, the church's tendency to valorize suffering , and its dualistic view of body and soul. Controversially, she also points to what she calls "the Irish Factor," noting that over half the hierarchy were of Irish heritage and thus "freighted with the status insecurities and sexual repressiveness endemic to that culture," leaving them "psychosocially unprepared" to confront the problem. Yet, as the only mental-health professional to speak to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops at the 2002 meeting where the crisis was first discussed significantly, Frawley-O'Dea believes that the zero-tolerance policy for any priest credibly accused of sexual misconduct was, in hindsight, "unpastoral." She warns that improvements to screening future priests will not eliminate abuse and urges Catholics to remain vigilant in holding their leaders accountable. (Mar.)

The Bishop of Rwanda: Finding Forgiveness Amidst a Pile of Bones
John Rucyahana with James Riordan. W, $19.99 (216p) ISBN 978-0-8499-0052-5

Bishop John Rucyahana, an ethnic Tutsi refugee in exile, was a leader in the Anglican Church of Uganda during the genocide of his people in Rwanda. He moved back in 1997 with his family to lead the largest and most devastated diocese there. The bulk of his narrative recounts the same story that others have told of the incomprehensibly brutal extermination of nearly one million Tutsis in 100 days. What this powerful, if disjointed, book adds is a deeper understanding of the role of the churches in the genocide. Although many Hutu pastors died protecting the Tutsis of their flocks, often religious clergy participated in the abhorrent violence, killing or betraying members of their congregations. The people of Rwanda have lost trust in authority of any kind, including religion, and so Rucyahana notes the healing work that must now be accomplished can only be done through integrity and pure love. Bishop John has built ministries for both genocide survivors and perpetrators, releasing the pain from both sides and acting as a beacon for other communities suffering from their own destructive divisions. To anyone who has ever struggled to forgive, or felt too far gone to repent, this book plumbs the depth of God's grace and finds no bottom. (Mar. 6)

A Faith Fiction Review Coming in PW on Monday, December 18:

Summer of Light
W. Dale Cramer. Baker/Bethany House, $13.99 paper (400p) ISBN 978-0-7642-2996-1

As its title would suggest, Cramer's fourth novel is lighter and less gritty than its critically acclaimed predecessors (Levi's Will; Bad Ground), but it is a thoughtful and engaging read. When ironworker Mick Brannigan loses his construction job, he becomes a stay-at-home dad to his three children. Especially troublesome is four-year-old Dylan, who may have sensory integration dysfunction (and is in trouble for such things as licking the day-care teacher's ankle because he likes the texture of pantyhose on his tongue). The Brannigans' Georgia neighbors include a snobbish, wealthy couple and the contrasting Hap Harrelson, a grizzled fix-it man in unbuttoned overalls who is accompanied by a pack of beagles. A handless, homeless man (who faintly echoes a messianic character in Cramer's debut novel, Sutter's Cross) serves as sort of a supernatural figure. Layne Brannigan, a paralegal, is a strong woman figure for faith fiction, both nurturing of her family and talented in her profession. Cramer allows Mick to be reasonably competent but thoroughly male in his parenting style, and Mick's discovery of his creative talent for photography is an uplifting addition. Although the plot feels pieced together and Cramer occasionally narrates instead of letting the story unfold, the enjoyable cast of characters will keep the reader interested. (Feb.)

A Starred Review Coming in PW on Monday, January 15:

The Water Will Hold You: A Skeptic Learns to Pray
Lindsey Crittenden. Harmony, $22 (240p) 978-0-307-34735-0

Ten years ago Crittenden walked timidly into an Episcopal church in Berkeley. Overwhelmed with grief, she needed something to sustain her the way water had held her when she was a child learning to swim. Therapy had helped her deal with her beloved younger brother's death, but it was not enough. A priest suggested prayer. In this exquisitely written memoir, she traces her experience of prayer from hesitant beginnings—"I left 'God' out of it, as I repeated the simple statement. 'You are here, I am here'"—to regular, disciplined practice. Prayer, she told an uncle, was like writing. "If I waited for inspiration, I'd never write a word.... I had to make prayer a habit, to go to it the way I went each morning to the desk. Not to summon prayer, but to tap into what was already there." Crittenden, whose essay on her mother's death appeared in Best American Spiritual Writing 2004, faced repeated bereavement as she learned to trust God, herself, and others. Nowadays, she writes, "being in community holds me like a trapeze harness for sailing out over the void." Fans of Nora Gallagher and Patricia Hampl will welcome her narrative of spiritual exploration and discovery. (Mar. 20)