Soul Cravings

McManus's collection of essays reads like a series of lively late-night college bull sessions about the meaning of life, with enough transitions and common threads to pull reader-participants along. "We are all on the same quest," he writes. "And our soul craving is to find something we can believe in." McManus wants readers to come to know themselves and meet God on the journey. "This thing that haunts you, that never seems satisfied, the cravings in your soul that you are unable to satiate through all the success that the world can bring—this is your soul screaming for God." He spends many pages on love and its implications and emphasizes grace while eschewing legalism and shaming. McManus also muses on ambition, the power of hope, the uniqueness of each person, the search for meaning and purpose, the need for trust, and death and the problem of evil. McManus (The Barbarian Way ), the lead pastor of the Mosaic community in Los Angeles, has an unusually un-self-conscious voice. Throughout, he seamlessly incorporates personal anecdotes, music lyrics and movie snippets. Although the content isn't particularly new and the book might have benefited from some tightening, McManus's fresh presentation will do much to woo spiritual seekers and disenchanted Christians to a more authentic Christianity. (Nov. 14)