Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis by Lauren F. Winner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This has been a helpful book for me. Many of the author's descriptions of the symptoms of her mid-faith crisis resonate with me. Quoting a Hasidic rabbi, she says, "...until such time as I can pour out my heart like water before You, let me at least pour out my words," and then admitting that for her even the pouring out of words needs to begin again (p. 51). When she concludes at one point that prayers, "...when they come,... come from God," (p. 77), I wonder, if God is the author of my prayers, what does it mean, this prayer-less time in my life? Is it alright, or enough, for me to "be still and know", even if the being still extends into months, or maybe more? And then there are encouraging thoughts or quotations, like "you only need a tiny scrap of time to move toward God" (p. 108), and I feel comforted that my slight and imperfect momentary yearnings for God might be acceptable in some small way. "Maybe God has given some people belief like a pier, to stand on... and maybe God has given others something else..." (p. 167).

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