Book Review of Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis

Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis
by Lauren F. Winner
ISBN 978-0-06-176811-8
HarperCollins Publishers
Reviewed by Clint Walker

Lauren Winner is one of my favorite writers. Since Girl Meets God came out, I have been eager to find any articles or books she has written. Most of her books are confessional, even those that engage a specific subject, such as spiritual disciplines or sexual ethics. Her latest book, to be released on January 31, 2011, is a spiritual autobiography about facing sin and loss as Winner faces mid-life. True to form, Still is totally riveting and readable, and deserves to be read by a wide audience.

Truth be told, Still is about Lauren Winner's "dark night of the soul". Throughout the text she struggles with the failure of her marriage, a sense of the absence of God, depression, lonliness and loss. She speaks a lot of working through the "middle" parts of life, where great things are not beginning or ending, and where we are just challenged to keep pressing on and pushing through. Through Winner's insights and intelligent words, readers will find someone they can relate to, and know that they are not alone in such difficult struggles.

Winner's book is smartly organized. She organizes it in three parts entitled "wall", "movement", and "presence". Each chapter is brief, and speaks of a specific incident or insight in that part of her journey. The book is also organized  around the Christian year, which allows Still to take on the paschal rhythym of life, a sense of death, and rebirth. The end of the book has an interview with her by her publisher, which gives further insight into the book.

Still is everything I enjoy in a book. It is smart and well-referenced. Winner is slightly neurotic and a little quirky in the way she presents herself, which makes her all the more enjoyable to read. I received the book and read it all in one evening. It is that good. I recommend ordering it immediately upon its release.