I only remember one moment as a child where my mom talked to us about religion.
During a traumatic event in our family, she taught my sister and I to pray. I don’t think my mom even remembers it, but I do. I was 6, and I can still feel my eyes squeezed tightly closed as I lie on my bunk bed in the dark, intertwining my fingers and praying that events would reverse, and everything would go back to the way it was.
Over time I have found more humility in my prayers. But even remembering these impossible kid prayers, I can still feel the relief in my chest in letting go, putting silent words to my pain, and putting it out into the universe, in someone else’s hands.
My daughter is now 6, and the questions about where we go when we die, and why bad things happen to good people are getting more and more real. I want her to have resources to know how to deal with the uncertainty of life, and heroes to guide her when I don’t have the answers. Honestly, I’m still finding my own resources.
Maybe you have kids, maybe you don’t have kids, but here is a book I want to share with you.
Holy Troublemakers and Unconventional Saints, by Daneen Akers, just came out in November. The book profiles people from all kinds of faith backgrounds who have made difficult choices for the greater good. I had heard of some of these individuals before reading the book, but many I had not. I was introduced to Maryam Molkara, an Iranian transgender rights advocate, and Regina Jonas, the first female rabbi, and Bayard Rustin, a quaker who identified as gay and had a large role in the Civil Rights Moment.
I love everything about this book: the writing, the people Akers chose to profile, and the way she tells the story of each person’s life, making them all so relatable.There is a helpful glossary of terms that describes complicated words in easy language and there are calls to action/reflection at the end of each section. Every person profiled is illustrated by a different artist.
And yes, this is a totally biased review, because I was one of the artists who contributed. But I would want this book on my shelf even if my art had not been included. To be clear I am not compensated for promoting the book, I just believe in supporting things that bring beauty and love into the world and help us navigate uncertainty.
And this moment seems to hold a great deal of uncertainty, so let’s look to some unconventional saintly troublemakers for a path forward.
They sold out of the first printing but just got more back in stock. Check it out here.
