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Editorial Reviews
From Booklist
Bolz-Weber, the Lutheran pastor of Denver’s House for All Sinners and Saints, takes readers on the engaging and accessible journey with those she meets in bars, church conferences, at her local diner, and through breaking news of such events as Hurricane Katrina. As a recovered alcoholic and heavily tattooed with the story of her own foibles and faith, Bolz-Weber is clear-eyed about the personal travails faced by the marginalized and those without faith. Each chapter combines her own painful insights as well as celebratory descriptions of how she learns to overcome spiritual roadblocks. Consequently, the collection offers an excellent opportunity for readers who doubt in themselves, in God, and in their fellow humans to reconsider how their own closed minds may be the one thing they need to change for a better, more stable outlook. A fine and useful meditation on the constant need to doubt, accept, and grow spiritually. --Francisca Goldsmith
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Review
"Engaging and accessible...Bolz-Weber is clear-eyed about the personal travails faced by the marginalized and those without faith."—Booklist
"Bolz-Weber has such a distinctive voice and outlook, it's amazing she hasn't written more books. Perhaps it's because she's been too busy living the checkered and fascinating life that is the subject of her theological memoir.... Here's hoping her authentic voice continues to preach in more books."—Publishers Weekly
"The amazing thing about Nadia Bolz-Weber is that she manages to take her Christianity into corners of life where the church can be pretty uncomfortable going."
—The Daily Beast
"Bolz-Weber is a surprisingly vulnerable narrator who pairs personal confessions with beautifully articulated statements of faith."
—Christian Century
"This is an astonishing book...contagious, honest, captivating...a rare gift...I realize that I'm gushing, but that's what you do when a book inspires and moves and touches you like this one does."—Rob Bell, author of What We Talk About When We Talk About God and Love Wins
"For anyone who is Christian, interested in Christianity, anti-Christian (or anti-Religion), I recommend this book."—Gordon Gano, lead singer, Violent Femmes
"Nadia Bolz-Weber is what you'd get if you mixed the DNA of Louis C.K., Joey Ramone and St. Paul. She is by far my favorite tatted-up, cranky pastor ever. Follow her. Not just on Twitter, but wherever her unique mind takes you. What I'm trying to say is: Buy this book."—A. J. Jacobs, author of The Year of Living Biblically
"Pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber speaks the truth of our humanity that we too often want to deny. She declares the radical power of God's grace for Jesus' sake that we so often water down rather than daily be drowned in it. Yes, read at your own risk."—Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson, ELCA
"Funny, raw, and packed with truth, this book is offensive in all the right ways...This book reminded me of why I am a Christian, and I wept with gratitude when I finished it."—Rachel Held Evans, blogger, author of A Year of Biblical Womanhood
"Bolz-Weber has such a distinctive voice and outlook, it's amazing she hasn't written more books. Perhaps it's because she's been too busy living the checkered and fascinating life that is the subject of her theological memoir.... Here's hoping her authentic voice continues to preach in more books."—Publishers Weekly
"The amazing thing about Nadia Bolz-Weber is that she manages to take her Christianity into corners of life where the church can be pretty uncomfortable going."
—The Daily Beast
"Bolz-Weber is a surprisingly vulnerable narrator who pairs personal confessions with beautifully articulated statements of faith."
—Christian Century
"This is an astonishing book...contagious, honest, captivating...a rare gift...I realize that I'm gushing, but that's what you do when a book inspires and moves and touches you like this one does."—Rob Bell, author of What We Talk About When We Talk About God and Love Wins
"For anyone who is Christian, interested in Christianity, anti-Christian (or anti-Religion), I recommend this book."—Gordon Gano, lead singer, Violent Femmes
"Nadia Bolz-Weber is what you'd get if you mixed the DNA of Louis C.K., Joey Ramone and St. Paul. She is by far my favorite tatted-up, cranky pastor ever. Follow her. Not just on Twitter, but wherever her unique mind takes you. What I'm trying to say is: Buy this book."—A. J. Jacobs, author of The Year of Living Biblically
"Pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber speaks the truth of our humanity that we too often want to deny. She declares the radical power of God's grace for Jesus' sake that we so often water down rather than daily be drowned in it. Yes, read at your own risk."—Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson, ELCA
"Funny, raw, and packed with truth, this book is offensive in all the right ways...This book reminded me of why I am a Christian, and I wept with gratitude when I finished it."—Rachel Held Evans, blogger, author of A Year of Biblical Womanhood
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
96 of 99 people found the following review helpful
By
Amazon Customer
on September 10, 2013
Format: Hardcover
4 Comments
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I secretly took a peek at an advanced copy of Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber's forthcoming memoir Pastrix: the Cranky, Beautiful Faith of a Sinner & Saint. The illicit peek (I'm not cool enough to have actually received a copy of my own for review) turned into a complete sleep-robbing read-through, so I figured I might as well write a review since, as anti-piracy awareness ads have informed me, I basically stole money straight out of Bolz-Weber's pocket.
I don't love memoir. Everyone thinks their own lives are super-interesting just like everyone thinks they're a better than average driver - at least half of us are wrong. There is also a tendency in Christian memoir especially to extract forced lessons from every story as if life was just a series of Aesop's fables and we were all gurus draining experience of the last drop of wisdom. I call bull.
This Lutheran rock-star from Denver completely avoids the boredom trap, and mostly avoids the sappy life-lessons trap and turns out a memoir that is really fun to read. It helps that she has led a genuinely unusual life and she spills her guts ruthlessly throughout. Lots of reviewers will caution that she indulges adult language, but I commend it to your for that reason. Here is raw and beautiful humanity. You don't fall in love with Bolz-Weber in spite of her volatile personality, you fall in love with her because of it.
The abiding theme of the book is defiance. Her defiance matures over the course of the story, wisely told in thematic rather than chronological order. At the beginning she is all tooth and nail. At the end she is folded arms and a "bring it on" stare. Her journey is about accepting that she does indeed have the right to inhabit her calling, not (again) in spite of who she is, but because of who she is.Read more ›
I don't love memoir. Everyone thinks their own lives are super-interesting just like everyone thinks they're a better than average driver - at least half of us are wrong. There is also a tendency in Christian memoir especially to extract forced lessons from every story as if life was just a series of Aesop's fables and we were all gurus draining experience of the last drop of wisdom. I call bull.
This Lutheran rock-star from Denver completely avoids the boredom trap, and mostly avoids the sappy life-lessons trap and turns out a memoir that is really fun to read. It helps that she has led a genuinely unusual life and she spills her guts ruthlessly throughout. Lots of reviewers will caution that she indulges adult language, but I commend it to your for that reason. Here is raw and beautiful humanity. You don't fall in love with Bolz-Weber in spite of her volatile personality, you fall in love with her because of it.
The abiding theme of the book is defiance. Her defiance matures over the course of the story, wisely told in thematic rather than chronological order. At the beginning she is all tooth and nail. At the end she is folded arms and a "bring it on" stare. Her journey is about accepting that she does indeed have the right to inhabit her calling, not (again) in spite of who she is, but because of who she is.Read more ›
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59 of 60 people found the following review helpful
By
Samantha Drennan
on September 11, 2013
Format: Hardcover
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Disclaimer: I'm writing from the perspective of a much-less-cool Lutheran pastor. The things Nadia does wouldn't work in my context, and I'm not into tattoos.
But see, this book isn't telling me I should be just like her. Pastrix has no magic bullets. No Superhero who thinks they're going to "save" the church. No "Hey I'm Pastor Perfect of Awesomesauce Church and if you only do what I do you can be like me." I hate those books. They're less useful than toilet paper. But this is not that book! This is a book about the joyful and heartbreaking work of being God's bitch. It's honest. It's real. It's amazing.
We may not all be able to write like Nadia does, or start our own congregations. But we can all learn from her honesty, her vulnerability, her willingness to speak the truth, her willingness to admit she doesn't have all the answers, and most of all her fiercely Lutheran theology. No glory, all cross. It's the most inspiring book I've read in a long time, maybe ever. I just can't say enough about it. BUY THIS BOOK!
But see, this book isn't telling me I should be just like her. Pastrix has no magic bullets. No Superhero who thinks they're going to "save" the church. No "Hey I'm Pastor Perfect of Awesomesauce Church and if you only do what I do you can be like me." I hate those books. They're less useful than toilet paper. But this is not that book! This is a book about the joyful and heartbreaking work of being God's bitch. It's honest. It's real. It's amazing.
We may not all be able to write like Nadia does, or start our own congregations. But we can all learn from her honesty, her vulnerability, her willingness to speak the truth, her willingness to admit she doesn't have all the answers, and most of all her fiercely Lutheran theology. No glory, all cross. It's the most inspiring book I've read in a long time, maybe ever. I just can't say enough about it. BUY THIS BOOK!
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43 of 47 people found the following review helpful
By
Clint Schnekloth
on September 12, 2013
Format: Hardcover
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Wednesday September 11th I walked in to church for our evening youth event, and one of the adult leaders already had a copy of Pastrix in her hand. She had pre-ordered it via Amazon so she could start reading it right away.
I had a copy of it myself in my saddle bag. I had already read the first chapter, and knew it was going to be even better than I had anticipated.
Here's what Nadia excels at, and why our church (the ELCA) simply adores her: She breaks down law-gospel proclamation, a fancy title for the kind of preaching Lutherans of the ELCA variety hope to excel at, and turns it into language that makes sense to pretty much everybody. And she does so with the timing of a comedian. She's gratingly funny.
She does law-gospel preaching through a memoir. She lets her life speak.
That sounds more saccharine than I intend it. But Nadia is never saccharine. If she ever is, she smells it right away, and drops another expletive and deprecates herself. Even when she gets in the way she doesn't get in the way, because her whole story in here is about the grace extended to her in Christ in spite of the failings of the church, in spite of her own failings as a person and pastor.
There's a lot in this book that is deeply emotional. I broke into sobs on page 18, reading how her father very humbly pulled out scripture and spoke words of grace that confirmed her call to become a "pastor to her people."
I have to admit: I wish this were a book I had written. People like to say: I could have written a book like that. Usually that's not true. You don't have a book in you just waiting to be written down. To write a book, you have to write a book.Read more ›
I had a copy of it myself in my saddle bag. I had already read the first chapter, and knew it was going to be even better than I had anticipated.
Here's what Nadia excels at, and why our church (the ELCA) simply adores her: She breaks down law-gospel proclamation, a fancy title for the kind of preaching Lutherans of the ELCA variety hope to excel at, and turns it into language that makes sense to pretty much everybody. And she does so with the timing of a comedian. She's gratingly funny.
She does law-gospel preaching through a memoir. She lets her life speak.
That sounds more saccharine than I intend it. But Nadia is never saccharine. If she ever is, she smells it right away, and drops another expletive and deprecates herself. Even when she gets in the way she doesn't get in the way, because her whole story in here is about the grace extended to her in Christ in spite of the failings of the church, in spite of her own failings as a person and pastor.
There's a lot in this book that is deeply emotional. I broke into sobs on page 18, reading how her father very humbly pulled out scripture and spoke words of grace that confirmed her call to become a "pastor to her people."
I have to admit: I wish this were a book I had written. People like to say: I could have written a book like that. Usually that's not true. You don't have a book in you just waiting to be written down. To write a book, you have to write a book.Read more ›
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22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
By
Ron Nutter
on January 14, 2014
Format: Kindle Edition
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I recall a student in a graduate English class in Contemporary American Poetry, after a reading by William Matthews, saying the poet's clothes showed his authenticity as a poet, that if he had worn a coat and tie no one would have taken him seriously. I rejected that position arguing the only test of the "seriousness" of a poet is that poet's poetry. Well, tats and a foul mouth don't make for a more authentic Christian than do the clothes a poet may wear. That said, this is an interesting book that follows a pattern: She recognizes a limitation or bias in her viewpoint, then comes to a Biblical understanding that gives her a new perspective allowing for a more adequate understanding allowing her to overcome her limitation. I liked that part. But then again, either she or her editor (or both) understood her likely audience and sunk to rather intolerant digs at Evangelicals and Conservatives in general. By catering to her audience's own limitations and bias she weakened what could have been a better book. Her plea for tolerance for sinners with tats and potty-mouths and other cultural bruises becomes lost in her own intolerance for those Republican-like types she believes are truly benighted. Glad I read it, but it's a mixed bag.
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