Memoir Religion

Piece of Work is the story of a spicy Jewish girl who tried to become a sweet Christian wife—and failed miserably. Caught between expectations from two opposing worldviews, Danielle sought love like an addict chasing a drug. After years of tumbling through life searching for that missing piece, she finally found true love, forgiveness, and empathy within herself.

Forgiven and Not Forgotten is the story of the author's relationship with God since her childhood, combined with revelations from the Holy Spirit of what he is doing in this present season. In writing this book, God led her to revisit her past, including the dark seasons she would have preferred to have left buried, and the times she rushed on with her life leaving him standing in the dust.

We are spiritual beings having a physical experience. My purpose in writing this book is to share what this comprises. It means being an individual committed to living in partnership and harmony with the universe, to do this as consistently as possible, and to do no harm to one’s self or to others. Each chapter shares my perspective and experience with simple gifts, which are available to anyone seeking a more spirit-informed existence.

“Most of our earliest memories can be grounded in family and food. Loved ones gather around the kitchen while grandma cooks up her famous fried chicken or tacos. Little ones sneaking spoonsful of cake batter while Momma’s back is turned. Almost everyone can recall a favorite food memory from their childhood. My hope for this book is not only to bring to your table culinary delights from places you may never be able to go, but to share some of my special mission experiences with you as well.”

Lyn Brakeman was among the first women to enter the ordination process in the Episcopal Church just after the General Convention voted in 1976 that women could be priests. The bishop of her diocese had voted against ordaining women priests, and hospitality toward female aspirants was guarded at best. So why would a 40-year-old institutional naïf, suburban housewife, and mother of four enter such unfriendly territory to seek priestly ordination at a time when her personal life was in chaos?

A memoir of the profound destabilization that comes from losing one’s faith - and a young woman’s journey to reconcile her lack of belief with her love for her deeply religious family.

A Mexican immigrant and rising star within the Christian community abandons his faith and comes out as a gay atheist in this exceptionally moving and soul-searching memoir. Fernando Alcántar recounts his incredible journey from poor Catholic boy on the dusty streets of Mexico to globetrotting missionary and high-profile Christian leader in the United States - where he eventually left his celebrated life behind to advocate for the liberating power of reason and equality.

Kim Fields has lived most of her life with people thinking they know her, which is understandable. From her first job on a Mrs. Butterworth syrup commercial at age seven, she has spent 40 years in the public eye. There were nine years as Dorothy "Tootie" Ramsey on the classic sitcom The Facts of Life, five more in her 20s starring as Regine Hunter on the seminal coming-of-age show Living Single, and most recently appearing as herself on Real Housewives of Atlanta and Dancing with the Stars.

As the nation mourns the tragic loss of our 40th president, a new audiobook offers comfort and healing. Hand of Providence: The Strong and Quiet Faith of Ronald Reagan is an uplifting biography that emphasizes the powerful impact his faith had on his ideas, motives, and actions. According to recent opinion polls, Ronald Reagan is the most popular of modern presidents, and yet to most biographers the man is still an enigma.

In this comprehensive biography, David Willey explores the religious and personal background of the inspirational Pope Francis, his stunning impact on the Catholic Church, the hopes he has raised, and the legacy he will leave behind.

More than any other world leader in recent times, George W. Bush is a man of faith...a conservative Christian who has brought the power of prayer and the search for God's will into the Oval Office. His faith has proven to be a bedrock of strength and resolve during two of the most tumultuous years in our nation's history.

The daughter of an NCAA Championship-winning basketball coach and a stay-at-home mom, Anny Donewald had a seemingly blessed childhood. Then, at thirteen, one of her father’s players sexually abused her, and Donewald embarked on a path toward self-destruction. When Donewald was convinced to compete in an amateur night at a strip club, she found herself drawn into a world of drugs, money, and flesh peddlers in Michigan and Chicago - and eventually Las Vegas’ hottest XXX clubs.

In 1384, a poor and illiterate peasant woman named Ermine moved to the city of Reims with her elderly husband. Her era was troubled by war, plague, and schism within the Catholic Church, and Ermine could easily have slipped unobserved through the cracks of history. After the loss of her husband, however, things took a remarkable but frightening turn. For the last 10 months of her life, Ermine was tormented by nightly visions of angels and demons.

A biographical exposé of the dark side of modern corporate religion, as told by a former Evangelical fundamentalist Christian minister turned gay activist. Says Tom, "How did I ever fall for it? When I accepted Jesus Christ into my heart as my personal Lord and savior, I went all in. Years later I had to struggle to find a way to get out of both the ministry and the closet as well. I was a gay man trapped in the ranks of the Fightin' Fundies - constantly mentally recording their every word."

My Brother's Keeper unfolds powerful stories of Christians from across denominations who gave everything they had to save the Jewish people from the evils of the Holocaust. This unlikely group of believers, later honored by the nation of Israel as Righteous Among the Nations, included ordinary teenage girls, pastors, priests, a German army officer, a former Italian fascist, an international spy, and even a princess.

For decades Steven Curtis Chapman's music and message have brought hope and inspiration to millions around the world. Now, for the first time, Steven openly shares the experiences that have shaped him, his faith, and his music in a life that has included incredible highs and faith-shaking lows. Listeners will be captivated by this exclusive look into Steven's childhood and challenging family dynamic growing up, how that led to music and early days on the road, and his wild ride to the top of the charts.

Theologian and reformer John Wycliffe never had the opportunity to take his doctrines outside of his native England, but he could never have imagined that his teachings would one day travel as far as 920 miles east to Bohemia. In fact, while his contentious convictions aroused much ado at home, receiving both praise and contempt from followers and ecclesiastical figures, his messages would be far more resonant across the Channel than they ever were back home.

Pimp to Paradise chronicles the life and times of Thomas Van Johnson, from his childhood in the Dixie Homes Projects of Memphis, Tennessee, to a life of infidelity and misery, to the state of transformation. This book serves as a testament of how God can step into the midst of a sinner's cracked life. May it encourage the listener to seek and fight for a better way.

When Others Shuddered: Eight Women Who Refused to Give Up is the story of eight women called to serve God and who, in doing so, changed the world. They lived at the turn of the century, rubbing shoulders with the well-known men of their time, like John Rockefeller, Marshall Field, and Dwight Lyman Moody. These women - Fanny Crosby, Mary McLeod Bethune, Nettie McCormick, Sarah Dunn Clarke, Emma Dryer, Virginia Asher, Evangeline Booth, and Amanda Berry Smith - were unique.

When your life falls apart - through a death, a lost relationship, a diagnosis - you want more than anything to know that your pain has a purpose. And that beyond your pain, a new day awaits. Tricia Lott Williford discovered this in a few tragic hours when her 35-year-old husband died unexpectedly. In And Life Comes Back, she writes with soaring prose about her tender, brave journey as a widow with two young boys in the agonizing days and months that followed his death.