Faith and Other Flat Tires: Searching for God on the Rough Road of Doubt

by Andrea Palpant Dilley

At age twenty-one, Andrea Palpant Dilley stripped the Christian fish decal off her car bumper in a symbolic act of departure from her religious childhood. At twenty-three, she left the church and went searching for refuge in the company of men who left her lonely and friends who pushed the boundaries of what she once held sacred. In this deeply personal memoir, Andrea navigates the doubts that plague believers and skeptics Why does a good God allow suffering? Why is God so silent, distant, and uninvolved? And why does the church seem so dysfunctional? Yet amid her skepticism, she begins to ask new Could doubting be a form of faith? Might our doubts be a longing for God that leads to a faith we can ultimately live with?

Genres: Memoir, Christian, Religion, Faith, Biography Memoir, Spirituality, Christianity

304 pages, Paperback

First published February 7, 2012

Reviews

[Rendi Hahn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very open memoir by a young Christian - it's good to be reminded of all the different ways people come to (and back to) Christ, and how we can love one another through the process.

[Corinne]

I was a bit perplexed mid-read, because the author points out that a lot of doubt stories involve walking away from the church, making poor choices, finding the poor choices empty and meaningless, and returning to the church. At first it seems like that is in fact the story she's telling. Tales of her early life were hilarious (Your dad made your brother give his pants to some strange dude? Your VBS had skits about converting Darth Vader? Yep, that was the 80's and 90's 😂)

I was much more satisfied when she reached the point where she was wrestling with the same difficult questions, but in Christian community she has chosen as her home. She didn't stop being upset at the injustice of the world or the occasional weirdness of church life, but is sharing those experiences and feelings with her people.

[Tamara Murphy]

When I first read the bio on her book jacket: "Andrea Palpant Dilley grew up in Kenya as the daughter of Quaker missionaries...." I mistakenly thought my experience as a pastor's daughter would orient me to the sorts of struggles that Andrea experienced as a missionary's kid. Theoretically, that'd be true. I understand well the tension of living in a home where ministry to others becomes like a needy member of the family, living with a father irresistably drawn to pressing his family out of their comfort zones in order to meet the needs of the neediest. In reality, though, I have no idea what it means to grow up in Kenya, watch my friends die of preventable diseases, live each day surrounded by remnants and refugees of a historic genocide. I have no freaking clue.

This was the path I walked (or should I say drove?), reading Andrea's story. On one hand, I understood her struggle growing up surrounded -- occasionally browbeat -- by spiritual and religious fervor. I related to the desire to make my own way, make sense of the illogical, find comfort in discovering rather than just swallowing old answers to questions of faith. On the other hand, my path post-highschool could not be any more different than Andrea's. She entered academia, I entered matrimony. She wrestled her faith questions in coffee shops, bars and studio apartments in the Pacific Northwest. I wrestled my faith questions in the bleary-eyed hours between nursing and changing diapers. She not only read authors like Albert Camus, Walker Percy, and Dostoevsky but she had friends who read them, too. I had one friend my age with kids when I was in my early-twenties. We watched Oprah when we were lucky.

I learned so many good things from reading Andrea's story, but at the top of the list I realized how often I've fallen prey to the grass-is-greener syndrome. That if I'd had the chance to pursue academia, philosophy, and Depeche Mode I'd be further along in solving all my faith dilemmas right now. In other words, Andrea lived out a life I'd unknowingly fantasized and she and I both ended up wanting to throw our Christian culture credentials down the garbage disposal.

But if our faith struggles existed living polar opposite lives, our salvation story looks remarkably similar. Both of us were saved not from our doubts, but through our doubts. Both of us found that Jesus makes the most sense when we surround ourselves with real, grace-living people and when we pour ourselves out for real, broken lives outside of our own.

See my favorite excerpts at my full review here: http://blog.thissacramentallife.com/2...

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Faith and Other Flat Tires opens with a college-age Palpant scraping the ichthus decal off her bumper. This symbolic rejection of her childhood faith launches into the next three hundred pages which recount the tumultuous years that followed. Along the way readers are introduced to a number of interesting characters that pop in and out of Andrea’s life--Michael, the too-old and not-quite-divorced boyfriend; Will, the pot-smoking neighbor with a pet snake named Voltaire, among others.

Continue reading this review here: http://parchmentgirl.com/book-reviews...

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

My review is really a note of thanks to the author...thank you for your honesty. Thank you for your questions. Thank you for giving voice to the idea that faith and doubt can abide together in the heart. I started this book this morning; I read all day. It resonated with my soul.

[Glynith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a memoir by Andrea Palpant Dilley. She wrote about her journey in faith. She is a daughter of Quack medical missionaries in Kenya. She saw all kinds of sufferings and death while in Kenya. Imagine the cultural shock she went through when their family returned to the USA.

It is refreshing to read a book about a young woman's walk in faith. She voiced out her doubts, even left the church, but eventually came back. The book is not preachy and she does not force you to her beliefs. It is not like other Christian books that I had read so far, where writers were bad, turned good after hearing or seeing God and is now a preacher or evangelist. She is very honest with her questions and in her journey. She is very intelligent and with her English major background, her writing style is great. She will walk you through her questions in faith and her life in a very entertaining way.

I would like to quote some parts of the book:

This is from her dad: " It's possible, I think, for some to cross the bridge without knowing the name of the bridge. I think the lesson here is that we have to be open always to other people's knowledge of God, to their unique experience of God."

Here is another one I would like to share: " Even in my ambivalence about church, I would tell them, I could sense in my heart a strong longing for God."

It is normal for us to question and have doubts about something we can not see, about someone who can not give us an audible answer to our very questions. Should we just accept and not question so as not to offend? With so many translations and versions claiming to bring the Truth, which one is really The Truth?

I got this book free from handlebar marketing in exchange for an honest review.

[Kendall · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book about doubting, perhaps losing, faith and her journey back. It’s not about doubting the existence of God but doubting the Christian belief in the goodness of God. From there, as the author puts it, “I was trying to find purpose in my work, a partner on my journey, and a worldview I could believe in.”

This is the best memoir of losing then finding again, one's faith because it is the most honest one.

[Dave Ray Hankins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fellow Searcher

Searcher

I have been on a similar search for God. Like Andrea, I grew up in the church, but unlike her, didn't ask questions until much later in life. I have continued with God, and Andreas insight that doubt is part of faith helped. If you're seeking God, read this funny, very well written memoir for an honest look at a search for answers to the ultimate question.

[Jackie Selles · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book was good. the author talks about being a missionary kid and how she left the church for 2 years when she turned 23. how, in those 2 years, she found nothing of importance or meaning, just more unanswered questions. she does return to church and finds contentment, through 'loving one another earnestly.' ~ 1 Peter.

[Liam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think that many motorists have come across the fact that the rubber on the car can wear out very quickly. To make the rubber on your car last for a long time, before buying, I recommend that you use the Wheel Offset Calculator https://tireplanet.ca/wheel-offset-ca... . This will help you to more accurately match the rubber to your car and you can be calm about traffic safety!

[John Martindale · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am thankful for this book, it was like a comforting hug for my melancholy soul. I have recently known of 6 folks (some good friends) leave the Christian faith. They left for either intellectual reasons, the problem of suffering, from drifting or due to the hiddenness and silence of God. I imagine for some it was a mixture of these things.
For me doubt has primarily arisen due to the seeming absence of God and yeah that doubt has been like rust. Though my faith is like steel, rust has spread like cancer, eating away at my belief, little by little. I want to be a teacher of the bible, yet more and more I fear the bible can't stand up to scrutiny. I've been wondering if one of the only ways to keep faith, is to avoid questions, and to become a stubbornly dogmatic, shallow, closed minded, christian fundamentalist. Yeah, the kind of people i don't relate with and tend to avoid. Sigh...
But yeah, the author of this book is the kind of person I connect with, she is someone of depth and a thinker who explores the gray areas of life. It was good to hear her journey of doubt, first away from Christianity and eventually back to it. It gives me hope, that maybe I'll keep my faith though so many are falling away around me. Her reasons for clinging to her faith are also my own and it was good to be reminded of them. Her book reminded me of my strong dislike for the alternative to Christianity, truly all the world has to offer seems to me so trite, empty and pointless.
If we're nothing more then evolved animals in meaningless cosmos, then rational life is but a cruel joke from an impersonal nothingness that can't even enjoy an evil laugh as we suffer. To be frank, if Christianity is a delusion, and we live in a meaningless world, then why not drink the Kool-aid, and enjoy a little meaning, purpose, community and love during my short stay on earth. So yeah, why forsake Christianity? Well, I could forsake it in the name of truth, but if there is no God, whats the value and meaning of truth? And can I know that I know truth? sigh... every worldview has its problems, all beliefs are wood, hay and stubble, a skeptic merely needs to light a match and the fire will consume it all the same. I'll finish with a song I wrote last night on doubt:

"Since God loves to hide
And He filled his word with problematic text
Since He puts obstacles in the path
So only the dogged and childlike will go on
I say woe to those who question
It will be hazardous to your faith
For you'll come to a crossroad
A time where you need Him desperately
But he'll be nowhere to be found
And He'll leave you to walk in the darkness alone

Oh God if you're real, if the gospel is of life and death importance
God if you really do care and you're nature is love
Then its sure hard not to question your wisdom
And I just must say “what the hell are you thinking?!”

For people keep falling around me
Bodies are now strewn upon the ground
I hear the bullets flying by my head
Will one soon lodge itself in my belief
Am I to join the ever growing list of casualties?"

[Nikole Hahn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Faith and Other Flat Tires by Andrea Palpant Dilley explores with dark honesty spiritual doubts that, like a constant drizzle, touched every decision in her life, including the one that caused her to tear off her fish decal from the back of her car.

Andrea writes a very transparent memoir. In the forward, Jerry Sittser writes, “Andrea’s memoir is both different and refreshing as her personality. She describes her background—family, mentors, church, relationships, experiences—with respect, affection, and realism, neither idealizing nor demonizing.”

Andrea pulled away from her church and her family as her doubts about God’s existence grew stronger. She was a missionary kid who struggled with the question of why suffering must occur. While teaching Junior High Sunday School, Andrea asked the students, “If you could ask God any question, any question at all, what would it be?”

Their responses echoed her doubt. It made my eyes tear as I pictured these teenagers writing these stark questions:

“Dear God, Why do my parents fight and hurt each other? I feel sad when they fight. I go and hide in the closet. Love, Joshua.”

“Dear God, Why don’t you talk back to us when we pray? Sincerely, Max.”

She shoved those letters into her NIV bible and wrote, “They sat trapped in the middle of the Psalms. In so many words, I was saying to God, Here, you deal with it. This is your problem. If you want my allegiance, make sense of this mess.”

The first half of the memoir had humor, but her words were dark. She explored those doubts she had as she reflected on the poverty she witnessed in Africa. Andrea expressed frustration in growing up all her young life in Africa to having to start over in the states. The culture shock helped to fuel the doubts. Where did she fit in? Her heart longed for Africa.

The memoir grows a little more cheerful like the light before the dawn as events and poor choices led Andrea back to the church she grew up in; to her family who loved her and waited to be allowed into her thought process.

The ending of the memoir doesn’t discount the doubts, but adds value to them. While I waited for the sun to rise in her novel, I understood her agony, wept when she wept, and saw how complex her doubt had become. She didn’t grow up in an abusive home. Andrea didn’t have a horrible childhood. Her doubts and unwise choices could not be pinpointed to a single cause, and I agree that doubt is healthy. It allows for the believer to grow and learn. I couldn’t be happier with the memoir. I gave it five stars and recommend it to anyone who struggles with the question, “Why bad things happen if God is loving?”

*book given by publisher to review.

[Alycia Morales · Rating 2 out of 5]

As someone who walked away from my faith during my teens and fell back into it as a young adult, I wondered what it's like to actually doubt God or be skeptical concerning His existence and role in our lives. Because I never really doubted. I strayed.

Which is why I agreed to review this book. After reading Andrea Palpant Dilley's memoir, Faith and Other Flat Tires, I have a much better idea of what doubting God looks like.

I confess, for the first two-thirds, maybe three-quarters, of her story, I couldn't relate. At all. I've never been a missionary kid. Although I went to church as a child, I wouldn't say I grew up in the church. I didn't have that kind of God connection or relationship within the body of Christ. Andrea is literary smart and shares faith comparisons throughout her text. It became a bit heady for me to read through at times. On occasion, I wanted to put the book down and walk away.

But I pressed on. I wanted to know what brought her back home. I wanted to know what grounded her faith in God. I wanted to know her without all her questions and doubts. Did she ever find the truth she sought? Would her pilgrimage end?

Well, not exactly. In her own words, "I wouldn't describe the experience as a conversion or an epiphany or anything else of that kind. [God had visited her in the night watches.] My doubt didn't vanish suddenly and the search didn't resolve. But I did experience that moment of peace." (p. 293)

I suppose some of us will always have questions concerning our faith. I suppose we are all on a pilgrimage, each his own, pressing on toward the goal of the high calling of our faith. Searching for final truths until the day we come face-to-face with our beloved Savior. Whom we shall know in the fullness of His glory when we leave this earth suit behind.

I love Andrea's honesty. Transparency. Her longing to know the answers. I love that she isn't satisfied and must continue asking questions. I love that she is always searching for more of the Truth. I love that she didn't give up on God, because God didn't give up on her. I love that she shares how He pursued her, called her out.

Overall, this isn't my favorite memoir. However, I would recommend it to anyone doubting their faith. A doubter would see it from a different perspective than a solid believer. And I am thankful for her perspective as a doubter.

Please note that I received a free copy of this book from the publisher, Zondervan. I am not bound to giving a good review of this material. However, I think it may bless someone who relates with her quest in seeking the Lord. It is a well-written memoir.

[Julie N · Rating 3 out of 5]

Faith and Other Flat Tires is the memoir of a girl who grew up in a very conservative Christian family as the daughter of missionaries, who began to question her faith as she matured. The book follows Andrea from her childhood in Kenya to her difficult teen years to her rejection of faith as a young adult and her consequent return to faith.

Writing
I can't say I was really impressed with the writing. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either. It read more like a journal than a book and the ending didn't provide much closure. There was nothing about it that really turned me off in terms of style, but there also wasn't anything that really appealed to me about it either.

Entertainment Value
I thought I would identify with the author more closely than I actually did. We had similar upbringings in very devout, conservative homes, although I never lived overseas. But I just never really got interested in the story itself. I always feel bad when critiquing a memoir and saying it wasn't interesting, but I found myself really struggling to get through the book. I think much of that was based on the fact that this is a story I've read before, in many formats. Nothing sets the author's experience apart from other stories of doubt and renewed faith, which is what I'm looking for in a memoir. If I knew the author, I think her story would have a greater impact, but as a memoir, it isn't novel. Also, as a spiritual memoir, I appreciate gaining new insight. But in this case, I didn't feel like the author brought anything new to the table in terms of dealing with doubts. In the end, I didn't really idenitfy with her and I didn't learn anything new from the book, which caused it to be something of a dud for me.

Overall
Look, it's not that I don't recommend this book. It's a fine book. I just think that there are many better memoirs of doubt written by masters like Os Guiness and C.S. Lewis. It's not that I don't appreciate the author's story or that, as a believer, I don't think I should rejoice when anyone returns to their faith. But I just think there are better books about the experience for serious readers.

Thanks to Handlebar Marketing for providing me with a review copy of this book.

[Efox · Rating 3 out of 5]

I saw that Andrea Palpant Dilley was going to speak about this book at our shared alma mater and thought, that sounds interesting, I'll check this book out. I'm definitely the first person to check this book out of the library and while it's certainly no literary work of genius, I really appreciated the real way that Dilley outlined her struggles of faith.

Growing up a missionary kid and being confronted by the very real problems of a fallen world, Dilley develops some tremendous questions that ultimately lead her, for a while, to reject the faith of her chlidhood and try searching and not searching for answers to big questions, outside of the church. Compared to some faith accounts that everyone seems to love - church kid goes off, gets into sex, drugs and rock and roll, hits bottom and finds Jesus again - this one seems mild and tame. Yes, there are some misadventures in dating - but not really sex. Yes there's drinking and smoking - but not really that much and yes there's rock and roll - but again, not really the way the coming back to Jesus accounts like to spin it - and that's ok.

In fact, I appreciated that it isn't into the "sunk into depravity" routine that often comes with the more dramatic going away from and coming back to faith because I think Dilley's struggle is much more relateable and a lot more realistic. I don't think most of us leave church and go off and live lives of wonton sin. I think most of us struggle with faith, find that the answers we're getting at church seem whitewashed and shallow and simply go about our lives without that in it and we're ok. Dilley's struggles don't change outside the church and they don't go away when she comes back to it. And I think that's what makes this book so much better than the other accounts. We don't get all the answers here, we don't get the perfect clarity here, all we can do is deal with what we have - imperfect and lacking and broken. Dilley chooses to struggle inside the context of the family faith she grew up in and her reconciling of that is really hopeful and beautiful in its own way.

[Jo Rae Jetton · Rating 5 out of 5]

CROSSINGS

Our faith can be like a child trying on a parent’s much too large dress shoes. We adore clumping around in them and long for the shoes to fit. As we cross over the bridge from child to adult we begin to see the shoes in a different light. The fit has improved, but we no longer find them attractive. We may decide to find new shoes—some that are more like us and a lot less like them.

Andrea Palpant Dilley grew up in a Christian home with parents who practiced what they preached. Their service included working six years as medical missionaries in Kenya. While there, Andrea took a first step in her walk of faith when she accepted Christ. But when her father’s twelve-year-old patient died of tuberculosis she experienced her first crisis of faith. She said, “Something was profoundly wrong with the world. God allowed suffering. God let a good kid die.”

After her move back to America, her family joined a Presbyterian church and twelve-year-old Andrea stepped into the waters of baptism. The teen years followed and she developed pot holes of skepticism. This led to frequent intellectual debates with her father and ample opportunities to ask hard questions—ones that are generally thought, but left unspoken. When she moves into the college years, she comes to forks in her road of faith. Which path will she choose?

As parents we attempt to pass our faith down to our children, much like our hand-me-down cars. It is only when we cross over the bridge of faith for ourselves that we find a faith that fits and we can walk in. Faith and other Flat Tires is a refreshingly honest road trip home.

[MARSHA · Rating 3 out of 5]

Andrea Palpant Diley is not that old and yet she has written a memoir: “Faith and Other Flat Tires” a memoir, searching for God on the rough road of doubt. It is a very important memoir in that it is a reflection of the thoughts and deeds of many people who are Christians. Her words are the truth, truths that many would not admit to and others are judge because of it.
“Faith and Other Flat Tires” is a story of Andrea Palpant Diley’s journey to her own relationship with God. She was raised in a “normal” home with “normal” parents and taught the Word of God. Her parents were not so extreme in their teaching that she had cause to rebel yet she walked away from her faith and lived a life that many prodigals do.
I recommend this book not only to my readers but my children and other twenty-somethings. I believe Ms. Diley’s thoughts and actions reflect many of the thoughts and actions they are going through. As parents we can give our children a strong foundation yet the journey to a personal relationship with God through Jesus is just that -personal. I recommend this book to people who have walked away from the church and believe they cannot come back- come back, perhaps to a different church. I recommend this book to those who have questions and doubts regarding religion.
“Faith and Other Flat Tires” A Memoir - searching for God on the rough road of doubt is exactly what the reader would expects it to be one individuals journey from faith to doubt back to faith. This book is an excellent read.

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

This memoir is highly relatable. Anyone who grew in up in the church and "left" it at some point will be able to reminisce along with Andrea as she attempts to tackle the big questions about God. She presents her struggles in a relatable and honest way. She does not attempt to apologize for them or glorify them, but attempts to present accurately what she experienced and felt at the time

Andrea is a good writer and is very enjoyable to read. I laughed out loud a few times while reading which should be testament to her style. Either that or just some of the experiences she had were just really funny.

The "revelations" that Andrea comes to are not unique in and of themselves but in how she got there. That must be true for each of us, and regardless if we are told these truths we will not believe until we see with our own eyes.

I commend Andrea for relaying her story so well, but I have a problem with the conclusionary part of this book. Her realizations about God and being ok with who he is does not unfortunately translate to life-changing or eternal knowledge. There is little to no mention of Jesus in the book, without whom our belief in God would be in vain. Without him and our belief in his sacrifice there is not power to make lasting change in our lives. I wish this would have been included and I hope that Andrea has come to know the Lord as her Lord and Savior

[Coyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another entry into the ever-growing “memoir” category, Andrea Palpant Dilley’s Faith and Other Flat Tires chronicles her journey from being a missionary kid to being a sort-of agnostic back to being some kind of theist. Using Pilgrim’s Progress as a (very) loose outline for her own journey, Dilley walks through the various stages of her own spiritual and intellectual travels and existential crises. And that is probably the central theme of the book (as much as a memoir can really have a theme): Dilley’s dealing with some form of extreme existential crisis.

In case you’re wondering, an “existential crisis” is something that has plagued individuals in the affluent West for the past century or so (at least since the writings of Kierkegaard and Nietzsche). In general it seems to be a sense of nameless despair over the possible meaninglessness of existence. Vague terms? Sure. But vague terms are essential to existentialism.


Read the rest of the review here: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/mindover...

[Tima · Rating 2 out of 5]

Andrea spent the first few years of her life in Kenya. Moving to the US was shocking and challenging. Her next few years as a teenager and young adult were spent trying to decide where she fit in. Not just in society, but in her Christian walk with God.

Memoirs are a bit difficult to review. Every person's story is different and will therefore resonate with every individual differently. This book seems to not end abruptly. There isn't really a "closing" chapter in my opinion. But the author's story isn't finished yet; so, I suppose, it's impossible to put an ending where there isn't one. The book was filled with interesting stories and antidotes that made the book more enjoyable to read. This book certainly isn't for everyone, but some of the questions she asked will give the reader pause to think and consider their own walk with God.

I received this book free of charge from Handlebar Marketing in exchange for my honest review.

[Wendy Hines · Rating 4 out of 5]

Faith and Other Flat Tires is one woman's search for God in a world full of diversity. The daughter of missionary parents, Andrea questions her faith as a young adult. She sees many suffer and questions God's decision - why did they have to suffer horribly? How is that fair? Through-out her journey that she shares with the reader is inspiration, humor, doubt and the quest of faith. Easy to read, with stories Andrea shares of her two year journey, Faith and Other Flat Tires doesn't come across preachy at all, but realistic and true. Andrea does resume her faith in God, but on her own terms, in a different way. Page-turning, personal, and at times, thoguht-provoking, Faith and Other Flat Tires is a memoir that I highly recommend!

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It was especially refreshing that this wasn't the typical story that is shared about faith; the one where the person hit absolute bottom in the world of drugs and sex and finally found God. No, this is a highly relatable tale to the average person. Andrea grapples with the same questions we all do: "If God exists, why is there so much suffering in the world? Why do babies get abandoned? Why do people go hungry?" Like so many who have grown up in a Christian household, she turns away from the church as a teen, but she ultimately comes back to God. She learns that it's okay to doubt, to question, and to search. I believe this is a great book to read for those who have asked or are asking these questions about God; for those who are seeking.

[Pilar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Faith and Other Flat Tires​ is as unique as its title. The subheading reads, "searching for God on the rough road of doubt".

I have a penchant for memoirs, and this one is especially captivating.

Andrea Palpant Dilley was the daughter to Quaker missionaries who served in Kenya most of her childhood. She had grown accustomed to living in Africa, that when she returned to the States, she had difficulty assimilating into the American culture.

While living in Africa as a child, Andrea Palpant Dilley was exposed to a great deal of suffering and death. Those early experiences planted a seed which germinated into doubt and her crisis of faith.

To read more visit http://www.ordinaryservant.com/?p=508

[Denise DiFalco · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author Andrea Palpant Dilley is not unlike other young people that were raised in a staunch christian atmosphere. A daughter of Quaker missionaries, she decides to question her own faith as a young adult. In "Faith and Other Flat Tires Searching for God on The Rough Road of Doubt", Andrea recounts her life growing up in Kenya and how she sets about to find her own niche in the World. This book will touch many. Sometimes humorous as can be seen in these chapter titles: Darth Vader Loves Jesus; Why Isn't God Like Eric Clapton; Gandhi Lives Next Door and Taking My Demons to Church it's not hard to see why this author wins a way into the readers heart. I enjoyed Andrea's journey and I highly recommend. This is a must read for anyone having difficulty with their own faith.

[Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book to be very helpful, realistic about the parallels of human doubt and faith. It is extremely relevant to the phase of life I am entering as a new college student. There is nothing I love more than a challenging, yet intriguing question, often I find the answer does not resolve the curiosity of faith but rather, lead to more questions. My favorite question she asked was, " Is faith objective or subjective?"

The answers can be both a relief and frustrating!

A very intriguing read!

[Ann Gemmel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very insightful memoir of a millennials journey of faith. She started as the daughter of Quaker medical missionaries serving in Africa and returning to American life as an elementary student in the Pacific Northwest. Through her college years, Andrea struggled with deep questions of faith which involved her walking away from the church in the midst of her search and in time returning to reembrace the faith of her childhood. Very intellectually and emotionally honest. Grateful for what I learned from here. Well written memoir.

[Becca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dilley succeeds in writing a story which starts out as a window and transforms into a mirror. So many times in this book, I had a "yes, I've experienced this" moment. Very well written and an important story for the church to hear.

[Peggy Hess Greenawalt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Andrea lives in Austin, TX and will be coming to a book club at my home on November 8th. Join us at 6:30 for questions, readings, signings, snacks, and more. She is a fascinating woman and has written a very interesting book.

[Dorothy Greco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dilley's prose edges toward the poetic and her insights are refreshing. She's a gifted story teller with the capacity to get under the surface and point us to deeper truths. Very much looking forward to her next offering.

[Heather Price · Rating 4 out of 5]

A walk-through a missionary kids' crisis of faith and her search for answers. I love that it doesn't end with her finding "the truth" but with her acknowledging the journey as part of our purpose.