The beloved author of "The Cloister Walk" takes readers on a moving journey in this thoroughly original investigation of faith. Taking as her starting point the "scary words" that can intimidate and distance us from our religious heritage--words like "judgment, faith, dogma, salvation", and "sinner"--Norris blends history, theology, storytelling, etymology, and memoir to reflect on their meanings.
A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR

From the New York Times-bestselling author of The Cloister Walk, a book about Christianity, spirituality, and rediscovered faith.

Struggling with her return to the Christian church after many years away, Kathleen Norris found it was the language of Christianity that most distanced her from faith. Words like "judgment," "faith," "dogma," "salvation," "sinner"--even "Christ"--formed what she called her "scary vocabulary," words that had become so codified or abstract that their meanings were all but impenetrable. She found she had to wrestle with them and make them her own before they could confer their blessings and their grace. Blending history, theology, storytelling, etymology, and memoir, Norris uses these words as a starting point for reflection, and offers a moving account of her own gradual conversion. She evokes a rich spirituality rooted firmly in the chaos of everyday life--and offers believers and doubters alike an illuminating perspective on how we can embrace ancient traditions and find faith in the contemporary world.