Tables in the Wilderness: A Memoir of God Found, Lost, and Found Again

Having grown up in a Texas home with his Baptist preacher father and a mother who battles chronic pain with humble faith, Yancey had taken God’s presence for granted. When he heads off to college, he follows his parents’ encouragement to ask questions and finds he doesn’t know a lot of the answers. He has trouble hearing God’s voice and feels himself a bit out of place at Baylor University. He relates, in tedious detail, his time in the wilderness—enduring God’s silence, failed relationships, and an unsuccessful attempt to start a church with his best friend, then finally encountering the Episcopal Church, with its liturgy and prayer books, where he ultimately feels at home. The college-student angst about choosing majors, finding friends, and rebelling will appeal to young adult readers, especially those who are questioning their beliefs after being raised in Christian homes. Some of his theology might put off evangelicals, however, and his ponderousness, switches between points of view, and tense shifts might annoy some readers. Agent: John Topliff. (Sept.)