The Great Belonging and Taylor Swift as Books and Not Knowing How to Be in Christian Publishing
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I’ve been a fan of Taylor Swift as Books on Instagram ever since I first noticed their account a couple of years ago. And last night they Swifted The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other.
See the image below matching the over of The Great Belonging with a photo of Taylor Swift.
I love it. It’s perfect. Dreams really do come true.
In other news, I’m trying to reconcile Christian publishing, my faith, and how to do my writing and work without losing my soul.
Everything that’s wrong with the white church in America is also wrong with Christian publishing in America, and so many people with influence and power are just smiling and pretending like everything is fine (because everything that’s wrong with the white church in America is also wrong with Christian publishing in America).
And it makes me want to flee. To where? I have no idea.
Where would I go, Lord?
Publishing is broken everywhere on so many different levels because everything everywhere is broken on so many different levels.
But.
This morning I’ve been thinking about how my faith has unfolded and how so much of who I am and what I believe has been formed by Christian books. Reading books by Anne Lamott, Lauren Winner, Kathleen Norris, and Henri Nouwen 20-ish years ago showed me there’s so much more than The Power of a Praying Wife. Their books showed me that my experiences of faith, doubt, and mystery weren’t so strange. Their books showed me I wasn’t alone. Thank God.
These days, my soul seems to find more comfort in fiction and poetry and brilliant creative nonfiction that has very little to do with spiritual things, but I still read books by, and primarily for, Christians. Cole Arthur Riley, Danté Stewart, Leticia Ochoa Adams, and Pádraig Ó Tuama (who may no longer call himself a Christian?) and their books help me feel less alone in my faith. Dozens of lovely books by other authors fit in the spaces between these two ends of my Spiritual-Reading-Through-The-Years spectrum. And I still love to reread my favorites by Anne Lamott, Lauren Winner, Kathleen Norris, and Henri Nouwen.
And yet.
I feel like an outsider in the Christian publishing space because I want to call out everything I see wrong in Christian publishing while so many people seem content to stay silent and/or make sure they do their part to make things ick.
And.
I don’t have a huge platform, power, or influence. I am not closely aligned with many people with huge platforms and a lot of power and influence. Therefore, in addition to the isolation I experience in the Christian publishing space, sometimes it can feel like my work and writing and voice don’t matter all that much.
But.
I’m not interested in aligning myself with people with huge platforms and a lot of power and influence. That sounds exhausting.
Because so many people with huge platforms and a lot of power and influence look exhausted.
But.
I write about spiritual things, and I always will to some degree. This is who I am and what I do.
And.
I receive encouraging emails or messages a few times each week about my writing and work. Readers tell me The Great Belonging has helped them feel less alone in their faith. Spiritual Direction for Writers clients and members and Daily Nourishment subscribers send words of gratitude, encouragement, and support. So many say, “Thank you for your work.”
These messages help me believe my work matters. I wish I didn’t need them, but I guess I do,
And.
Even though it doesn’t feel like it, I do have a tiny sliver of influence because I have one book out in the world, another one on the way, and a good friend with a small-to-medium amount of power and influence who has championed my work. (Lauren Winner will laugh when I tell her about the “small-to-medium amount of power and influence” bit.)
But sometimes, I still want to flee. And I don’t know what to do with that except write it down, show it to others, and hope a few people out there get it and think, “yeah, me too.”
Charlotte Donlon helps her readers and clients notice how they belong to themselves, others, God, and the world. Charlotte is a writer, a spiritual director for writers, and the founder of Spiritual Direction for Writers™. Her essays have appeared in The Washington Post, The Curator, The Christian Century, Christianity Today, Catapult, The Millions, Mockingbird, and elsewhere. Her first book is The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other. She’s currently writing her next book, Spiritual Direction for Writers, which will be published by Eerdmans in 2024.