Following up her highly acclaimed Girl Meets God, author Lauren F. Winner has written an engrossing reflection of literary grace and spiritual wisdom with Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis.
As she lives through a failed marriage and the loss of her mother, Winner finds her Christian faith slipping away. Through reading religious works and tomes and being counseled by leaders of the church, she learns she must find the courage to trust in God in order to to find His presence.
Elegantly written and profound, Still offers reflections on how murky and gray the spiritual life can be while, at the same time, shows us how to see the light we do encounter more clearly.

Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis

Biographies & Memoirs

Winner, Lauren F.

Leaders & Notable People

HarperOne

Lauren F. Winner—a leading writer at the crossroads of culture and spirituality and author of Still and Girl Meets God—joins the ranks of luminaries such as Anne Lamott and Barbara Brown Taylor with this exploration of little known—and, so, little used—biblical metaphors for God, metaphors which can open new doorways for our lives and spiritualities.
There are hundreds of metaphors for God, but the church only uses a few familiar images: creator, judge, savior, father. In Wearing God, Lauren Winner gathers a number of lesser-known tropes, reflecting on how they work biblically and culturally, and reveals how they can deepen our spiritual lives.
Exploring the notion of God as clothing, Winner reflects on how we are “clothed with Christ” or how “God fits us like a garment.” She then analyzes how clothing functions culturally to shape our ideals and identify our community, and ruminates on how this new metaphor can function to create new possibilities for our lives. For each biblical metaphor—God as the vine/vintner who animates life; the lactation consultant; and the comedian, showing us our follies, for example—Winner surveys the historical, literary, and cultural landscapes in order to revive and heal our souls.

Wearing God: Clothing, Laughter, Fire, and Other Overlooked Ways of Meeting God

Religion & Spirituality

Christian Books & Bibles

Crafts, Hobbies & Home

Crafts & Hobbies

Community & Culture

This enlightening book examines the physical objects found in elite Virginia households of the eighteenth century to discover what they can tell us about their owners’ lives and religious practices. Lauren F. Winner looks closely at punch bowls, needlework, mourning jewelry, baptismal gowns, biscuit molds, cookbooks, and many other items, illuminating the ways Anglicanism influenced daily activities and attitudes in colonial Virginia, particularly in the households of the gentry.

A Cheerful and Comfortable Faith: Anglican Religious Practice in the Elite Households of Eighteenth-Century Virginia

History

Americas

Yale University Press

Challenging the central place that “practices” have recently held in Christian theology, Lauren Winner explores the damages these practices have inflicted over the centuries Sometimes, beloved and treasured Christian practices go horrifyingly wrong, extending violence rather than promoting its healing. In this bracing book, Lauren Winner provocatively challenges the assumption that the church possesses a set of immaculate practices that will definitionally train Christians in virtue and that can’t be answerable to their histories. Is there, for instance, an account of prayer that has anything useful to say about a slave‑owning woman’s praying for her slaves’ obedience? Is there a robustly theological account of the Eucharist that connects the Eucharist’s goods to the sacrament’s central role in medieval Christian murder of Jews? Arguing that practices are deformed in ways that are characteristic of and intrinsic to the practices themselves, Winner proposes that the register in which Christians might best think about the Eucharist, prayer, and baptism is that of “damaged gift.” Christians go on with these practices because, though blighted by sin, they remain gifts from God.

The Dangers of Christian Practice: On Wayward Gifts, Characteristic Damage, and Sin

Politics & Social Sciences

Philosophy

The child of a Jewish father and a lapsed Southern Baptist mother, Lauren F. Winner chose to become an Orthodox Jew. But even as she was observing Sabbath rituals and studying Jewish law, Lauren was increasingly drawn to Christianity. Courageously leaving what she loved, she eventually converted. In Girl Meets God, this appealing woman takes us through a year in her Christian life as she attempts to reconcile both sides of her religious identity. Here readers will find a new literary voice: a spiritual seeker who is both an unconventional thinker and a devoted Christian. The twists and turns of Winner’s journey make her the perfect guide to exploring true faith in today’s complicated world. Praise for Girl Meets God: “A passionate and thoroughly engaging account of a continuing spiritual journey within two profoundly different faiths.” –The New York Times Book Review “A charming, humorous, and sometimes abrasive recollection of a religious coming-of-age . . . a compelling journey from Judaism to Christianity.” –The Atlanta Journal-Constitution “A book to savor . . . Winner is an all-too-human believer, and the rest of us can see our own struggles, theological and otherwise, in hers.” –Fort Worth Star-Telegram “[A] memoir, literary and spiritual, sharing Anne Lamott’s self-depreciating intensity and Stephen J. Dubner’s passion for authenticity . . . Winner’s record of her own experiences so far is a page-turning debut by a young writer worth watching.” –Publishers Weekly (starred review) “[The] narrative’s real strength . . . is its addictive readability combined with the author’s deep knowledge of, delight in, and nuanced discussion of both Christian and Jewish teachings. . . . Intriguing, absorbing, puzzling, surprisingly sexy, and very smart.” –Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Girl Meets God: A Memoir

Random House Trade Paperbacks

The New Church's Teaching series has been one of the most recognizable and useful sets of books in the Episcopal Church. With the launch of the Church's Teachings for a Changing World series, visionary Episcopal thinkers and leaders have teamed up to write a new set of books, grounded and thoughtful enough for seminarians and leaders, concise and accessible enough for newcomers, with a host of discussion resources that help readers to dig deep. In this seventh volume, bestselling author, scholar, and priest Lauren Winner introduces the story behind the Scriptures and invites readers to engage the Word of God with curiosity and confidence. Rich with content and grounded in Episcopal tradition, A Word to Live By is filled with Winner's trademark combination of humor, authenticity, and rich insight. Audience: Church leaders, lay and ordained, seminary students and faculty, newcomers, and adult formation groups

A Word to Live By (Church's Teachings for a Changing World)

Church Publishing

Despite her conversion from Orthodox Judaism to Christianity, Lauren Winner finds that her life is still shaped by the spiritual essences of Judaism---rich traditions and religious practices that she can't leave behind. In MUDHOUSE SABBATH, Winner illuminates eleven spiritual practices that can transform the way we view the world, and God. Whether discussing her own prayer life, the spirituality of candle-lighting, or the differences between the Jewish Sabbath and a Sunday spent at the Mudhouse, her favorite coffee shop, Winner writes with appealing honesty and rare insight.

Mudhouse Sabbath

Paraclete Pr

" It's not just that Jesus was a Jew, Jesus still is a Jew. Engaging Jewish practice and tradition is one important way of overcoming the gaps that we sometimes feel exsist between Jesus and ourselves." So begins Lauren WInner on the powerful new Mudhouse Sabbath DVD: Seven Ways of Christian Formation Inspired by the Jewishness of Jesus. Designed to be a course in Christian formation all by itself, or as a companion to her bestselling book, this resourse will challange you to : encounter the Jewish context that nurtured Jesus Explore spiritual practices of hospitality, mindful eating, prayer and fasting, and mourning Deepen your Christian faith by incorporating these things into your life.

Mudhouse Sabbath: The Workshop DVD

Paraclete Press

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Winner, Lauren F.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Winner, Lauren F.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Winner, Lauren F.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis

Wearing God: Clothing, Laughter, Fire, and Other Overlooked Ways of Meeting God

Wearing God: Clothing, Laughter, Fire, and Other Overlooked Ways of Meeting God

Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis

A Cheerful and Comfortable Faith: Anglican Religious Practice in the Elite Households of Eighteenth-Century Virginia

The Dangers of Christian Practice: On Wayward Gifts, Characteristic Damage, and Sin

Girl Meets God: A Memoir

A Word to Live By (Church's Teachings for a Changing World)

Mudhouse Sabbath

Mudhouse Sabbath: The Workshop DVD