3 Faith Centered Memoirs To Stir Your Soul
Photo by Ron Lach
When it comes to nonfiction, for me, nothing quite compares to the memoir genre. Other people’s stories are so compelling, especially when told with candid transparency. To receive an intimate glimpse into another’s joys and struggles is to understand the great connectedness of mankind. What is particularly intriguing is reading about a person whose life circumstances differ wildly from my own, and yet finding myself relating to the emotions and responses of their experiences. In some ways, memoirs have the effect of weaving us all together in the great human story.
As a Christian, I especially enjoy memoirs centered on coming to faith. God is unbelievably individual in the way He calls us. It is mind-boggling that the God of the universe stoops so lavishly to meet us and draw us so specifically. And yet, time and again, individual stories prove that He is just that. Lavish.
What’s more, when my affection for God is trending toward listless, stories of God’s generous nature in the life of another always stirs my soul and brings the warmth back to my own relationship. It’s impossible to read another’s love story and not be drawn back into my own.
If you find yourself in need of a little soul-stirring, I recommend the following faith-centered memoirs. Each of these authors is vulnerably honest, making the stories personal and relatable.
01 | Girl Meets God by Lauren Winner
I stumbled upon this memoir as I was trying to learn more about the Christian Liturgical Calendar. Beginning my faith journey as an adult and attending a church that didn’t follow the Liturgical Year, at some point my curiosity was piqued on the matter and I began listening to podcasts and researching the subject.
Amidst this digging, the memoir Girl Meets God emerged. Lauren Winner’s faith story is utterly fascinating, and her writing is both humorous and winsome. Growing up with parents from differing faith backgrounds (Reformed Jewish and Southern Baptist), Winner is initially drawn to her Jewish roots. As a young woman, she converted to Orthodox Judaism, a daunting process.
However, much to her surprise, while pursuing her studies at Columbia University and Cambridge, Lauren felt herself being pulled away from Judaism and toward Christianity. Winner’s excellent handling of her own story within the broader theme of the Liturgical Calendar is alone worth the read.
02 | Booked: Literature in the Soul of Me by Karen Swallow Prior
This memoir came along during one of my binges in the Classics. If I was given multiple lives to pursue, a degree in English Literature would likely find its way into one of them. However, finding myself limited to only one, I make do with gleaning knowledge from others.
Booked, by Christian author and Professor of English, Karen Swallow Prior, is just such a place to glean, and has the benefit of being both an exploration of literature and memoir.
Prior shares her faith story through the lens of themes drawn from various classic titles. Though raised in a family who attended church, it was Prior’s love of books that God used in drawing her to himself. While lovers of literature will find this narrative especially appealing, I still found chapters built around books I haven’t read to be engaging.
Prior makes a case for the formative power of literature as she weaves personal anecdotes with literary commentary seamlessly. One feels they are curled up on a sofa with the author, cup of tea in hand, discussing the Great Books and the Word of Life in a rich discussion.
03 | A Severe Mercy: A Story of Faith, Tragedy, and Triumph by Sheldon Vanauken
At its core, A Severe Mercy is a love story. Vanauken relives a passionate relationship with his wife, Davy, from meeting to parting, in tender prose. A bittersweet ending awaits the couple after years of building a marriage, one steeped in partnership and intimacy.
Along the way, the couple moves to Oxford where they begin an impactful friendship with C.S. Lewis. The experience eventually draws them both to Christ. When Davy becomes ill, the two must set foot on a new path and ultimately Vanauken says goodbye to the love of his life.
Correspondence with Lewis is instrumental in bringing him out of a painful tailspin as together they explore the idea of death as a “severe mercy.” I read this book at a time when multiple hardships had hit my family, including a life-threatening illness with my oldest son. As someone wrestling with the goodness of God, this memoir held my hand as I processed how the Lord’s lovingkindness meets us in the hardships of life.
