Pilgrims in the Library

by Faith Zook

When she was a girl, Faith Zook had dreamed of living in the city. But when she married a lifelong city dweller, the city shocked her. Rats on the doorstep. Drug dealers next door. The high cost of living. Stares and odd questions. Her growing family brought more challenges—child training without privacy, finding chores for the children, reaching out to neighbors while protecting the family. Having noisy neighbors . . . being noisy neighbors.

However, Faith found unexpected opportunities—and unexpected joy. Neighbors came for supper, asked for her advice, and offered help and baby clothes. There were educational events for her homeschooled children and jobs for her teenagers. Now, she wouldn’t want to raise her family anywhere else.

Pilgrims in the Library is packed with stories from twenty years of city living. Faith encourages other mothers, whether urban or rural, to find joy and fulfillment serving the Lord in their own setting.

201 pages, Paperback

Reviews

[Jenna Rotelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was written to a fairly specific audience - namely Anabaptist, city-dwelling, home-schooling moms - and I happen to check most of those boxes. I’m not home-schooling and by the end of the book I was reminded that my city, when compared with some of the neighborhood’s Faith has lived in, must really be a village and not a city at all. Now I kind of want to live in an actual city.

Faith speaks to different challenges she has faced as an urban mom of seven, drawing from her experiences having spent 20+ years in a variety of cities. I found all of the topics to be relatable in one way or another. And, while I didn’t agree with all of her conclusions, I still found it valuable to hear someone else’s thought processes.

What kept me glued was Faith’s honesty about her own humanity and her sense of humor in handling the quirky, unexpected, often frustrating dynamics that life in any community throws at you. I laughed out loud at some lines.

There were two or three clumsy sentences that I puzzled over and felt an editor should have brought clarity to. But then, that critique is coming from the individual who just stuffed a single sentence with an unsightly amount of hyphens. (see opening sentence above) So, of course I’m still giving it five stars.

[Krista · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciate that this book was written. I spent over half my life living in a city as an Anabaptist and found Faith’s stories to be super relatable. I’m glad she was open about her positive and negative life experiences.

[Bethany Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought it was a storybook. It's more a guidebook on living in the city. Interesting book, but it didn't leave me in a star-struck haze.

[Vincent Waldron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Faith Zook has written a short book about her experiences as a conservative anabaptist mother of seven living in an urban environment. There are explorations on the need for minimalism, ways to find joy, and some of the blessings that she has found in DC and Baltimore communities where she has lived.

The biggest message that I found in the book is that Faith has at certain times struggled with living in the city -- seeing her life as more challenging because of her surroundings and some of the stresses from the crime and other things present in communities around her. The book in many ways feels like an attempt to count blessings -- to enumerate the ways in which her community has blessed her and given her opportunity to bless others.

She says that she thinks it is easier for city raised children to move to the country than the reverse, but I'm not sure about that. Clearly her husband wouldn't have dealt well moving to a very rural area and there are plenty of people who struggle to acclimatize themselves to urban life when attempting the reverse move. Perhaps it has more to do with personality.

Faith and her husband, Nathan, have a heart to serve and their willingness to open their home and share meals with others and connect with neighbors in their community is a challenge for both urban and rural folks. It is challenging to show hospitality to others and some of us who are more introverted struggle with it in any setting.

The biggest negative of the book is that there is little dialogue. Most events are described rather than told.

This book reaffirms the need to bloom where you are planted, but more than that, to find joy in the everyday experiences, whether we happen to live in the city or the country.

[June · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some people write books because they have something to say. Others write because they want to write a book. Faith Zook is one of the latter sort.

Thankfully, she does have things to say, some of which she says several times.

Perhaps because, somewhat unconventionally for my culture, I’ve always wanted to live in the city, some parts of the book hit my ear as sounding defensive. But overall, I appreciated the humility, humor, and creativity in this collection of mini-essays about inner-city Mennonite culture.

Brighter Winter 2025: Book about Neighbors, Book Published in 2024

[Alison Peachey]

I enjoyed the author’s perspective, both as a Mennonite in the city, and as someone who joined the Mennonites, as well as her humility and humor in sharing her experiences.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the honesty and hope in this book... living and raising children in the city can be daunting, but with God and His love and joy, it can be done... done well!

[Joel Mast · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was pretty rambly and low-key boring.

[Justin Burkholder · Rating 5 out of 5]

I very much appreciated the perspective the author gave of living in the city. She didn't sugar coat it, but she recognized both the pros and cons.

[Mary Burkholder · Rating 3 out of 5]

A positive look at how a family can survive and even thrive living in a city. The author’s non-Mennonite perspective is also important to her story.