{"id":39501,"date":"2021-07-28T21:07:40","date_gmt":"2021-07-29T01:07:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=39501"},"modified":"2021-07-28T21:07:40","modified_gmt":"2021-07-29T01:07:40","slug":"review-of-love-is-the-way-by-bishop-michael-curry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=39501","title":{"rendered":"Review of Love Is the Way, by Bishop Michael Curry"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Love Is the Way<\/p>\n

Holding on to Hope in Troubling Times<\/em><\/p>\n

by Bishop Michael Curry
\nwith Sara Grace<\/p>\n

Avery (Penguin Random House), 2020. 259 pages.
\nReview written May 24, 2021, from my own copy.
\nStarred Review<\/p>\n

My church small group has been going through this book, at the rate of a chapter per week (with a 6-week break in the middle for a Lent study), and we\u2019re finishing up this week. It\u2019s been a wonderful book for discussion.<\/p>\n

The tone is devotional, with personal stories from the bishop in every chapter. It starts out a little bit general about loving others, but does continue to specifics like loving LGBTQ people and loving people of different races and different political views.<\/p>\n

He frames the book with each chapter having a subtitle that\u2019s a question about love, a question he\u2019s actually been asked. He begins with \u201cWhat is love?\u201d and \u201cHow do I find God\u2019s love?\u201d and continues through things like \u201cDo I have to love even my enemy?\u201d \u201cHow can love overcome what divides us and move us forward together?\u201d and \u201cDoes love mean avoiding politics?\u201d<\/p>\n

I expected something with less depth than what I got. His willingness to delve into practical issues means the book challenges the reader, because we can all get better at loving.<\/p>\n

And he\u2019s also inspirational. I enjoyed the chapter \u201cIt\u2019s Not Easy,\u201d which had the question \u201cI\u2019m just a regular person \u2013 can my love have an impact?\u201d No surprise, the answer is Yes<\/em>, and that answer is proved by stories in the chapter. Here\u2019s how that chapter ends:<\/p>\n

It is impossible to know, in the moment, how a small act of goodness will reverberate through time. The notion is empowering and it is frightening \u2013 because it means that we\u2019re all capable of changing the world, and responsible for finding those opportunities to protect, feed, grow, and guide love. We can all plant seeds, though only some of us may be so lucky as to sit in their shade. Since we can\u2019t start twenty years ago, the best time to start is today.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And here\u2019s how the book ends. (It\u2019s not a Spoiler with Nonfiction! Here\u2019s where this book will take you.)<\/p>\n

When God, who is love, becomes our spiritual center of gravity, and love our moral compass, we live differently, regardless of what the world around us does. The world changes for the better, one life at a time.<\/p>\n

So don\u2019t give up on love.
\nListen to it.
\nTrust it.
\nGive into it.
\nObey it.<\/p>\n

Love can help and heal when nothing else can. Love can lift up and liberate when nothing else will. May God love you and bless you. And may God hold us all in those almighty hands of love.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

You can think of this book as a compelling call to love.<\/p>\n

penguinrandomhouse.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Nonfiction\/love_is_the_way.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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