The Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber
Jericho Books
Hardcover: 224 pgs.
There are lots of reasons why I'm not super-swift to post reviews
of new books, especially when they're spiritual memoirs. I generally wait to see
if the read has staying power, meaning: Do I keep thinking about it? Am I talking about
it? Does the author’s story engage my brain as well as my heart? Have I been
invited into a deeper inquiry about God and faith?
Happy to report that the Rev.
Nadia Bolz-Weber’s book, Pastrix: The Cranky, Beautiful Faith of a Sinner
and Saint has staying power.
I read Pastor Nadia's entire book within hours after it arrived
two weeks ago and the "aha moments" keep emerging. This, trust me, is saying a lot
given the fact that since finishing Pastrix,
I've read three novels, been glued to #pandacam,
binge-watched all three seasons of "The United States of Tara" on Netflix, and have been obsessed
about the upcoming series finale of "Breaking Bad."
Don't know about you, but whenever I read memoir, I zoom in on
what resonates most deeply for me; no shortage of that in Pastrix.
I've long been interested in how medical events shape identity and
lead – or don't – to faith in a higher
power. Pastrix includes the story of Pastor
Nadia’s rough ride through childhood thanks, in part, to dealing with the physical
realities and social stigma of having Graves' Disease. Her rough ride through
childhood was also due to being raised in an uber-fundamentalist home, something I didn’t have to
endure thankyouverymuch.
As someone committed to keeping my own "memory green,"
I'm always fascinated by other women's stories about addiction and recovery. Pastor
Nadia’s story includes nearly trashing her adult life with addiction. Been there; survived that. Pastrix offers a refreshingly blunt
description of the recovery process without devolving into self-indulgent
twaddle.
Because I work ecumenically, I'm always grateful to discover a book that reveals the felt
experience of looking through a denominational God-lens. Pastor Nadia offers a
gloriously clear articulation of Lutheran theology. Pastrix is a memoir that illuminates one of the central,
distinguishing characteristics of Lutheranism: a deep trust in God's abiding
grace. And it's a reason I especially urge Roman Catholics who either don't know or are in the dark about Protestant Christianity to read this book.
To this list, I’ll add that Pastor Nadia strips away any possible romanticization
of what it means to be a working pastor. Pastrix
provides a gritty ethnography about the call to vocation, the obstacle course
to ordination, the challenge of sustaining faith for self and others, and
dealing with the crazy-ass stuff that happens within congregations. She also lands a few well-deserved jabs at
preachers. My favorite:
“But the job of the preacher is to find some kind of good news for people. And that good news really should be about who God is and how God works and what God has done and what God will do. (What passes for preaching in many cases is more here’s the problem, and here’s what you can do about it, which I myself have never once heard as being ‘good news.’)”
Also, having participated in communities with and without rules, I
laugh-snorted when I came upon Pastor Nadia’s revelation that, “a community
based on the idea that everyone hates rules is, in the end, just as
disappointing and oppressive as a community based on the ability to follow
rules.”
Pastrix is a memoir with staying power
because Pastor Nadia is powerfully articulate about our deep need for God’s grace.
She’s also a rockin’ terrific writer, another source of delight for this reader. I highly recommend this to anyone interested in reading a memoir of spiritual substance with lots of authentic style.
Check Out My Faves:
Interview: "Nadia Bolz-Weber on Becoming God's Bitch," by Candace Chellew-Hodge in Religion Dispatches.Check Out My Faves:
Review: "'Pastrix' by Nadia Bolz-Weber," by The Rev. David L. Hansen.
Review: "La Femme Nadia: Pastrix," by The Rev. Clint Schnekloth
Video: Under the Tent with Nadia Bolz-Weber, interview by Krista Tippett, host of NPR's show, On Being.
P.S. Much has been made about her “language” but if you ask me – and even if you don’t – I say it’s totally contextual and makes sense. It’s a vivid expression of passionately rugged engagement with the world of Church because, let's face it, sometimes "bullshit" is perfect description and "fuck that" is the best response.
