In this series, we highlight books we think our readers may enjoy, written by authors affiliated with the Collegeville Institute.
Death and Dying: An Exercise in Comparative Philosophy of Religion
Springer International Publishing, 2019
Eds: Timothy D Knepper, Mary Gottschalk, and Lucy Bregman, former Resident Scholar and writing workshop participant
The medicalization of death is a challenge for all the world’s religious and cultural traditions. Death’s meaning has been reduced to a diagnosis, a problem, rather than a mystery for humans to ponder. How have religious traditions responded? What resources do they bring to a discussion of death’s contemporary dilemmas? Death and Dying offers a range of creative and contextual responses from a variety of religious and cultural traditions. It features 14 essays from scholars of different religious and philosophical traditions, including a chapter titled “Christians Encounter Death: The Tradition’s Ambivalent Legacies” by editor Lucy Bregman.
The J Horoscope: Poems
Brighthorse Books, 2019
By Sharon Chmielarz, former writing workshop participant
The J Horoscope is an often saucy re-imagining of stories from Genesis, viewed from the twenty-first century eye and the 973 BCE back story. The original J, circa 973 BCE, is one of the four writers of Genesis. She’s named J for her intense interest in Yahweh’s (Jahweh’s) character who appears on earth in various guises. Kirkus Review called the J Horoscope “thoughtful, bold, humorous, earthy, and humane—a superb collection.”
Happy Colon, Happy Soul
Wipf & Stock, 2019
By Karen Giesbrecht, former workshop participant
Happy Colon, Happy Soul is an exploration of how people share food with others, particularly vulnerable neighbors. In these pages, some of Vancouver’s more colorful souls share about the costs of poverty and privilege, as well as the long, slow heart shifts experienced on the journey toward healthier eating. Sharing food and making space where those on the margins are welcomed can be both delightful and difficult. The way people prefer to eat is as unique and personal to each individual. Through these stories, readers will learn to nourish themselves and their neighbors a little better.
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