Excerpts from Three Reviews Coming in the March 27 Issue of PW

-- Publishers Weekly, 3/15/2006

Light through the Crack: Life after Loss
Sue Mosteller. Doubleday/Image, $10.95 paper (208p) ISBN 0-385-51667-3

When a “crack” forms in life, whether from drug abuse, illness or a broken marriage, Mosteller believes that an inner light often shines through, birthing new life and hope. In each of the heartrending stories she recounts in this collection, the literary executrix for spiritual writer Henri Nouwen plunges readers into the dark cracks of individual lives, showing how each was restored. Mosteller, a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph, drew these stories from her network of relationships in the international L’Arche community for developmentally disabled people, often disguising names and places. Several are of the two-hanky variety, including those about a couple who decide, against the advice of their doctor, to bear a child they are told will die within 15 minutes of its birth, and a man whose life is riddled with fear from having grown up under apartheid in South Africa. (June 20)

Dissident Discipleship: A Spirituality of Self-Surrender, Love of God, and Love of Neighbor
David Augsburger. Brazos, $19.99 paper (256p) ISBN 1-58743-180-7

Drawing on the Anabaptist traditions, Fuller Theological Seminary professor Augsburger explores what spirituality looks like when it imitates Jesus and is directed outward in service to the world, instead of inward on the self. This is not the usual all-about-me-spirituality book; nor does it focus solely on community to the exclusion of the individual, but balances the needs of people and communities as they try to imitate the ways of Jesus. In clear and accessible language, Augsburger recommends and explores eight practices: radical attachment, stubborn loyalty, tenacious serenity, habitual humility, resolute nonviolence, concrete service, authentic witness, and subversive spirituality. Augsburger has written a book that is challenging but still pastoral; it is realistic and honest about the cost of true discipleship even as it encourages readers to embrace that path. (June)

Dark Matter: Shedding Light on Philip Pullman’s Trilogy His Dark Materials
Tony Watkins. IVP Books, $15 paper (224p) ISBN 0-8308-3379-X

Philip Pullman’s acclaimed His Dark Materials trilogy, a sweeping retelling of Milton’s Paradise Lost and the biblical Fall, has caused great controversy among Christian readers. Watkins, a self-proclaimed Christian and managing editor for the Damaris Trust’s Culture Watch Web site (http://www.damaris.org/cw), offers a perspective on Pullman’s work that is anything but dark and is sure to enlighten the debate among Christians. The book is divided into three parts, the first a walk through Pullman’s life and background and the second an overview of the major dimensions of each book in the trilogy. It is not until the third section that readers will find what they are really looking for: a critical evaluation of major themes and story dimensions such as dæmons, sin, and the infamous “death of God”—an assessment that is smart and wisely restrained. Watkins’s critical appreciation of Pullman’s trilogy will surely appeal to a Christian audience, but will reach well beyond this market to a general readership looking for a solid, substantially sourced, and well-written analysis of this beloved work of literature. (May)

This article originally appeared in the March 15, 2006 issue of Religion BookLine. For more information about Religion BookLine, including a sample and subscription information, click here »

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