Books

I’ve written a few books! You can find out more about them here.

As human beings, we have these deep and unutterable experiences: loving someone deeply, our sense of calling, the mutating pain of family dysfunction, our conviction that something is wrong in the world, the fraught stirrings of our belief (and unbelief) in God, the transformative joy of having a child, the losses and disappointments we all encounter in life. These things live within us, they shape and direct our lives, and we find them difficult to speak about. There are other essential things that are difficult to talk about too— goodness, justice, wrongdoing, and in the quiet whisperings of all these things, God.

These things elude us, shapeshifting and dissolving when we try to put them into words. And yet we feel a deep and insatiable desire to put these things into words, to speak about our experiences of the world and our ideas, to give these things shape so that we can look at them, talk about them, show them to other people so they can be witnessed, maybe even understood. Very often, when we are not able to speak about our experiences and ideas, to give them voice, they fester within us, growing infected or stale. On the opposite end of the spectrum, we may feel that a joy or a love is not complete if we cannot rejoice in it out loud, give it the honor is it due in the distinctly human language of praise.

Metaphors matter because they allow us to give a voice to those profound experiences and concepts that evade us, because giving voice to those things is satisfying, clarifying, and honoring, humane, and because the metaphors we choose and use direct our actions, our orientation in the world. That is what this book will explore, by meditating on seven metaphors offered to us in the Christian and Hebrew scriptures. Specifically, we explore these metaphors:

People are Trees

Wisdom is Light

Safety is a Tower

Love is a Disease

Change is Birth

Sadness is a Burden

Life is a Journey

Discover the Way Toward a Lighter, Braver, and Wiser Life
This old world can be exhausting, despairing, and cynical. But you don't have to be. Instead, in an act of defiance that will make you more resilient in times of turmoil, pain, and chaos. Cultivating happiness takes grit, determination, and a good sense of humor. It's not always easy, but it's well worth it.

Beloved writer Joy Marie Clarkson leads the way, crafting an audacious case for happiness no matter what you're going through. With her signature humor and lyrical storytelling, Joy offers an irresistible invitation:

"If we accept that life will be full of difficulties and sorrows, we then have two options: to resign ourselves to life generally being a bummer, or to seek enjoyment, delight, and hope in the midst of (and in spite of!) life's up and downs. To put it bluntly: You could choose to cultivate happiness, or you could not. . . . I think we should go for it.”