NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • For the weary, the angry, the anxious, and the hopeful, this collection of moving, tender prayers offers rest, joyful resistance, and a call to act, written by Barbara Brown Taylor, Amena Brown, Nadia Bolz-Weber, and other artists and thinkers, curated by the author Glennon Doyle calls “my favorite faith writer.” It’s no secret that we are overworked, overpressured, and edging burnout. Unsurprisingly, this fact is as old as time—and that’s why we see so many prayer circles within a multitude of church traditions. These gatherings are a trusted space where people seek help, hope, and peace, energized by God and one another. This book, curated by acclaimed author Sarah Bessey, celebrates and honors that prayerful tradition in a literary form. A companion for all who feel the immense joys and challenges of the journey of faith, this collection of prayers says it all aloud, giving readers permission to recognize the weight of all they carry. These writings also offer a broadened imagination of hope—of what can be restored and made new. Each prayer is an original piece of writing, with new essays by Sarah Bessey throughout. Encompassing the full breadth of the emotional landscape, these deeply tender yet subversive prayers give readers an intimate look at the diverse language and shapes of prayer.
Author
Amena Brown is a spoken word poet, performing artist, and event host whose work interweaves keep-it-real storytelling, rhyme, and humor. The author of five spoken word albums and two non-fiction books, Amena has garnered national attention in media outlets such as Ebony Magazine, Huffington Post, and Belong Magazine. Amena recently wrote and collaborated with award-winning actress, producer, and activist Tracee Ellis Ross on the Manifesta for Ross’ natural hair product line, PATTERN. A proud graduate of Spelman College, some of Amena’s most popular spoken word videos are “Letter to My Hair,” where she writes about her natural hair journey, “Dear TV Sitcoms,” a nostalgic piece about the lessons we can learn from sitcoms, “Girlfriends Poem,” where she writes about the importance of friendship among women, and “For the Women” a poem she wrote to honor women of color for International Women’s Day. Collectively these poems have reached over 200,000 views on Facebook Video.
