Amazing grace

Boston Globe

A unique and glorious voice.

Irene Elizabeth Stroud

. . .[A] collection of meditations on Christian themes with names as intimidating as salvation,. . .[and] judgment. . . .These short pieces on words are interspersed with brief personal narratives that gradually share a little more of . . .Norris' journey from skepticism to faith. . . .If you're curious, if you already feel drawn toward the language of faith, come and visit.
— The Women's Review of Books

San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle

One of the most eloquent yet earthbound spiritual writers of our time...frequently irreverent and funny...She makes us converts to her simple faith.

San Francisco Sunday Examiner & Chronicle

One of the most eloquent yet earthbound spiritual writers of our time...frequently irreverent and funny...She makes us converts to her simple faith.

Publishers Weekly

When poet Norris (The Cloister Walk) found her way back into church in the early 1980s, she was unsettled by what she calls the "vaguely threatening and dauntingly abstract" vocabulary of the church. Many of the words, like "Christ," seemed to her code words churchgoers used out of convenience when they could not find other words to use. Other wordslike "salvation," "conversion," and "dogma"seemed to Norris to be too abstract to reflect meaningfully her own experience. In this "vocabulary of faith," Norris draws upon her considerable poetic skills to refashion the vocabulary of the church into her own religious vocabulary. In each of these meditations, Norris uses anecdotes and humor to invest these words with fresh meanings. On "Salvation," for instance, she tells the story of an acquaintance who had become relatively successful in a new venture with his business partner. But, when Norris's friend realizes that his partner will go as far as committing murder to succeed, he leaves the partnership and returns home. Norris describes this victory as the beginning of salvation, "to make sufficient," because her friend "realized the road he was on was not sufficient; it could lead nowhere but death." In "Conversion: The Scary Stuff," Norris retells the story of Jacob's wrestling with the angel to demonstrate the struggle we all undergo in seeking the face of God. Norris's lyrical prose rings with clarity and grace as she brings life to her experience of the church's vocabulary.

Chicago Tribune

[Kathleen Norris] writes about religion with the imagination of a poet.

Francine Prose

It's hard to imagine less off-putting or pious writing about religion than this sublimely commonsensical lexicon of words and concepts that, as Norris explains them, have rarely sounded less frightening — or quite so simple to understand.
— Elle

Irene Elizabeth Stroud

. . .[A] collection of meditations on Christian themes with names as intimidating as salvation. . .[and] judgment. . . .These short pieces on words are interspersed with brief personal narratives that gradually share a little more of . . .Norris' journey from skepticism to faith. . . .If you're curious, if you already feel drawn toward the language of faith, come and visit.
— The Women's Review of Books

Michael Milburn

An engaging meditation on the language of faith.
— The New York Times Book Review

San Francisco Sunday Examiner & Chronicle

One of the most eloquent yet earthbound spiritual writers of our time...frequently irreverent and funny...She makes us converts to her simple faith.

The Boston Globe

A unique and glorious voice.