The Faith Between Us

I read the review below in Publishers Weekly and recommended the book, sight unseen, on the basis of the description. So much of official "dialogue" turns out to be about matters academic, political... anything but deeply personal. This sounded like a refreshing change. I must admit I was also taken with the idea that it was men
doing the more intimate sharing across the faith lines. That wasn't so often the case when I was a thirty-something. Got the book and as I had hoped, I loved it. Leaving aside the Jewish/Christian dialogue(which is quite fascinating), this is just a wonderful depiction by good writers of what might be called,for lack of a better word, post-modern faith. Anne Lamott calls herself a "bad ass Christian," and there is a bit of Anne's sensibility in these men. I find, however, that they tend to stick with a subject longer than Anne does, go a bit deeper.
Bottom line: This is a great read, for winter vacation or any other time.

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. What's the saying? Never discuss sex, God or politics if you want to keep your friends? In this particular case, the questions of faith and God are actually what brought Peter Bebergal and Scott Korb together, initially through a correspondence related to their writings for various online magazines. Faith was not something either particularly discussed with their other friends, even though both hold advanced degrees in religion. Like a conversation that continues all night into the early light of dawn, this collection of stories is filled with the deepest of personal feelings and confessions as well as the mundane details of everyday life. The format-the telling of a story by one, followed by a reflective epilogue by the other-highlights not only the seamlessness of their dialogue, but the depth of their friendship and understanding of each other. No topic is taboo; amid their questioning of faith and God come tales of addiction, neuroses and ineptitude. These thirty-somethings are as diverse as their upbringings, and yet between them they represent a little bit of all of us in this thoughtful, engaging debate about the virtues of faith and the existence of God. (Nov.)
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