I am so happy to have review of Katherine Ozment’s gorgeous Grace Without God: The Search for Meaning, Purpose, and Belonging in a Secular Age
In short, I loved Ozment’s book. I hope you’ll read my review, but I also wanted to share a few additional quotes here.
“When we begin to tap into that connectedness, we sense the potential to participate in some bigger purpose that both humbles and elevates us.”
“I felt the rush I always get when I see my family before they see me, as if I’m holding a precious photograph. They are my solar system, my closest and most lasting tribe … I had felt a bit of what I thought of grace – an abundance of gratitude for something I never asked for – that day gazing at my tulip and, later, at my family from across the street.”
“What was sacred was that very moment. I wanted to celebrate the smooth skin of my children’s curious faces, the roof over our heads, the rich traditions and great good fortune of being alive here on earth in the first place. I savored the way our voices, however unsteady, lifted as one. If I was going to celebrate anything, it was going to be the crooked, imperfect path of life that I and my part-Christian, part-Jewish, mostly nothing family had found ourselves on together.”
“Whether we call it science or religion, we’re all after a framework for understanding the mysteries inherent in being alive and the wonder we experience when we start to grasp them.”
“The key is not to flee ambiguity, shutting the door because we can’t answer the questions of why we’re here. Instead, we consider how we are here, how we exist in the world. We do this by embracing the messiness, the poignancy, and the knowledge that life will end.”
“I still don’t have answers to all the big questions. But I’m starting to see that becoming more comfortable holding the questions is the only way that makes sense to me.”
“Meaning came from the intense awareness of the moment itself, from my reverence for her, for this life we were joined in as family. I simply needed to remain still enough to notice.”
I loved this book. My review is here at Great New Books. I hope you will read the review and then order Grace Without God: The Search for Meaning, Purpose, and Belonging in a Secular Age
Thank you for sharing this book- it’s now on my wish list. And this quote – so perfect for today: “smooth skin of my children’s curious faces, the roof over our heads, the rich traditions and great good fortune of being alive here on earth in the first place. “
Thank you for sharing. I relished these quotes and can’t wait to add this to my reading list. Seems in keeping with another book I am reading and loving right now–Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living by Krista Tippett. I love her podcast, OnBeing, and she integrates the wisdom gleaned from her conversations and presents it in a beautiful, poetic, heartfelt way–making it both accessible and wondrous all at once. Happy Summer reading to you!
Lovely. Just ordered the book. Thank you.
I was given a proof copy of this in a bookstore over spring break. I have just moved it to the top of my to-be-read pile. Thank you for the recommendation!