Sarah Bessey
Convergent Books, 256 pages
Published February 20, 2024
As an Evolving Faith co-founder, Sarah Bessey joined writers like Rachel Held Evans and Jeff Chu to create space for Christians to actively deconstruct their faith and pull away from harmful theologies and toxic communities. In Field Notes for the Wilderness, Bessey writes to fellow “wanderers” who seek a way to follow Jesus that honors their doubts and questions. She writes with the confidence of someone who has wandered (and suffered — she and her husband have lost jobs and friends when they questioned their church’s attitudes toward women, LGBTQ folks, and more) and has found a new home. Yet, she also writes with the humility of one who still searches, questions and doubts.
Field Notes for the Wilderness doesn’t necessarily offer anything new; the “ex-vangelical” field is increasingly crowded with authors who walked away from a faith that was too certain, too restrictive, and sometimes actively harmful. But Bessey is a clear-eyed and warm-hearted companion for our journey toward an all-loving God and a more inclusive faith. Each chapter is a letter to a reader (Dear Heartbroken…, Dear Wonderer…) and each speaks to a different time and place in which readers might find themselves. This is, therefore, truly a “field guide” that can be read linearly or picked up in search of guidance for particular situations. With gentle humor, personal anecdotes and solid theology, Bessey witnesses to a God of grace and glory who loves her – and you – forever.
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