I realized I haven't mentioned any books here lately. That might make it seem like I haven't been reading much, which isn't actually the case. Since Slow Love, I've read a lot of good fiction, including Anne Lamott's newest Imperfect Birds and Dani Shapiro's Black & White and Family History. And I thoroughly enjoyed all of them. But I'm finding that the memoirs are really resonating the most for me these days, and I don't think I'm alone. There are a lot of good new memoirs out there and clearly a lot of people reading them, often looking to see how other people got through the challenges in their lives.
In He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not, Trish Ryan's challenge is trying to find Mr. Right. The thing that makes this book amazing is getting to witness the way she finds faith and a relationship with God in the process. And, as Allison Winn Scotch, author of The Department of Lost and Found writes, "You don’t have to be looking for spiritual enlightenment to dive into Trish Ryan’s He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not. Honest, funny, and poignant, Ryan’s is a story of one woman searching for the right path, and in sharing her journey, she might help you find your own way, whatever that way might be."
This definitely has been my experience. I started reading this book with David Whyte's words about conversation in my head, and while I would have enjoyed Ryan's well-written, funny, and insightful story of her romantic quest just on that level, I was really captivated by her descriptions of the conversations she had with God about her situation. Whyte and Ryan have reminded me how relational one's life can be and how much richer it is when one is in dialogue. I think a deep part of me had been missing that.
Trish Ryan has a new book out that I'm dying to read, A Maze of Grace, and there's a great interview with her on Gretchen Rubin's Happiness Project, which is how I found out about her in the first place. So glad I did!
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