Author Rachel Held Evans died in 2019 at the young age of thirty-seven, after an allergic reaction to medication. She was a hero to progressive Christians, having chronicled her journey from Christian evangelicalism and conservative politics in the Bible belt to a more inclusive version of Christian faith that embraces doubt and love over certainty and power. She wrote New York Times best-sellers including A Year of Biblical Womanhood. She was adored by many, and still is.
Hence, this book. I’m surprised frankly that it took so long. These are her collected essays that appeared originally on her blog. The topics include “Responding to Homophobia in the Christian Community” from 2013, and “Calling Your Reps and Planting Onions: A Plan for Faithful Resistance,” written at the start of the first Trump administration; its opening sentence: “What’s happening in America right now is not normal.” In fact, the six emphases in this essay are the gem of the book, showing its relevance for our present moment. (For the last of the six, on “Planting Onions,” see the excerpt accompanying this review.)
In addition, many of Held Evans’ friends — other well-known Christian writers and leaders such as Shane Claiborne, Kaitlin Curtice, Kathy Escobar, Jen Hatmaker, Brian McLaren, and Glennon Doyle — add short contributions of their own, picking up on themes of Held Evans’ passions for faith. The whole thing is pulled together skillfully by editor Sarah Bessey, who writes in her introduction, “If you want to understand the church today, you need to understand Rachel Held Evans,” and “If you want to understand both the rise of what she used to call ‘the unholy American trinity of patriarchy, white supremacy, and religious nationalism,’ well, you can start here.”
This is a book that is ideal for seeking Christians, particularly those who have been hurt by the church but are not done with faith.
