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Finding the Narrow Path: Patterns, Faith and Searching
Deciding to walk away from God did not come easily or quickly. Nor did the decision to return.
These kinds of tumultuous events feel as if they happen impulsively, spontaneously. But, if we take the time to look back at patterns, we find the seeds of the decision sown years before the actual action. This was not a book medical fiction writer Lin Wilder planned to write. Ever. Until she remembered a promise made to a friend years before.
Faith and all which accompanies religion like regular church attendance and a belief that there is something greater here, someone present, informs our decisions and choices, even our goals. Just so, its absence widens all boundaries. More and more is acceptable.
This, at times, brutally honest story of the reasons for Wilder's walk away from God, then years later, return, cannot fail to provoke and challenge. Her decision to reveal intimate and painful details of the life lived during the years she refers to as 'lost' will cause even the most devoutly faithful reader to take a peek at the shadows of the self we hide from the world and from ourselves.
These kinds of tumultuous events feel as if they happen impulsively, spontaneously. But, if we take the time to look back at patterns, we find the seeds of the decision sown years before the actual action. This was not a book medical fiction writer Lin Wilder planned to write. Ever. Until she remembered a promise made to a friend years before.
Faith and all which accompanies religion like regular church attendance and a belief that there is something greater here, someone present, informs our decisions and choices, even our goals. Just so, its absence widens all boundaries. More and more is acceptable.
This, at times, brutally honest story of the reasons for Wilder's walk away from God, then years later, return, cannot fail to provoke and challenge. Her decision to reveal intimate and painful details of the life lived during the years she refers to as 'lost' will cause even the most devoutly faithful reader to take a peek at the shadows of the self we hide from the world and from ourselves.
168 pages, Paperback
Published August 30, 2016
118 people want to read
About the author
Lin Wilder
13 books225 followersLin Wilder has a doctorate in Public Health from the UT Houston with a background in cardiopulmonary physiology, medical ethics, and hospital administration. During her thirty-plus years in academic health care administration, Lin authored numerous texts in these fields.
She began writing fiction only after leaving her Hospital Director position at UMASS Medical Center. Since then, Lin’s been the recipient of an extensive array of awards for her two series of novels. Her medical mystery series include: The Fragrance Shed By A Violet, Do You Solemnly Swear? A Price for Genius and Malthus Revisited. Plausible Liars, the fifth in the Dr. Lindsey McCall mystery series, is scheduled for release in the late spring of 2022.
Lin’s ancient novel series includes I, Claudia, and My Name is Saul. The third in that series, and her latest novel, The Reluctant Queen, took first place for historical and religious fiction in Feathered Quill’s Best Books of 2022. In addition, her memoir, Finding the Narrow Path, recounts her journey away from God and back again.
Lin lives in the Texas hill country with her husband and dogs.
Signed copies of her books can be purchased at linwilder.com. In addition, her weekly blog ranks in the top 100 Christian blogs and book reviews.
She began writing fiction only after leaving her Hospital Director position at UMASS Medical Center. Since then, Lin’s been the recipient of an extensive array of awards for her two series of novels. Her medical mystery series include: The Fragrance Shed By A Violet, Do You Solemnly Swear? A Price for Genius and Malthus Revisited. Plausible Liars, the fifth in the Dr. Lindsey McCall mystery series, is scheduled for release in the late spring of 2022.
Lin’s ancient novel series includes I, Claudia, and My Name is Saul. The third in that series, and her latest novel, The Reluctant Queen, took first place for historical and religious fiction in Feathered Quill’s Best Books of 2022. In addition, her memoir, Finding the Narrow Path, recounts her journey away from God and back again.
Lin lives in the Texas hill country with her husband and dogs.
Signed copies of her books can be purchased at linwilder.com. In addition, her weekly blog ranks in the top 100 Christian blogs and book reviews.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 20, 2019
* Warning - Due to the author's intense personal experiences, if a reader has a trigger that stems from abortion or the open, frank discussion of the topic from both the pro choice and pro life side then they must be very careful reading this book. *
As a loyal reader of this author's incredibly well written fiction, I felt like I was being honored with a peek behind the curtain. Reading this book is not unlike Toto pulling back the curtain to reveal the Wizard. If I had one word to describe this creation, it would be brave.
There is nothing as terrifying for someone than to open up their personal life for public exposure. The illustration of the path that the author took to reach her faith-based home in Catholicism could only be told properly if from the personal perspective. The author tells the story of her life in unvarnished truth.
There were times when I was taken to tears, when I gasped and when I laughed. The life led by this author could be one you see on the big screen in the sheer drama and twists and turns. I feel I know the author better and more personally having read this book and I think this is an important work in the faith field.
If you are one who had a faith-based life and walked (or ran) away from it, this book could be a possible path back to faith. Where this author found a home in Catholicism, the genus of this story is that just because you once had faith and lost it doesn't mean it is gone forever.
Intensely personal, gripping and well written. If you love the works of Lin Wilder, you should read this book.
My Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by: Mr. N
This review first appeared: https://www.nnlightsbookheaven.com/si...
As a loyal reader of this author's incredibly well written fiction, I felt like I was being honored with a peek behind the curtain. Reading this book is not unlike Toto pulling back the curtain to reveal the Wizard. If I had one word to describe this creation, it would be brave.
There is nothing as terrifying for someone than to open up their personal life for public exposure. The illustration of the path that the author took to reach her faith-based home in Catholicism could only be told properly if from the personal perspective. The author tells the story of her life in unvarnished truth.
There were times when I was taken to tears, when I gasped and when I laughed. The life led by this author could be one you see on the big screen in the sheer drama and twists and turns. I feel I know the author better and more personally having read this book and I think this is an important work in the faith field.
If you are one who had a faith-based life and walked (or ran) away from it, this book could be a possible path back to faith. Where this author found a home in Catholicism, the genus of this story is that just because you once had faith and lost it doesn't mean it is gone forever.
Intensely personal, gripping and well written. If you love the works of Lin Wilder, you should read this book.
My Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by: Mr. N
This review first appeared: https://www.nnlightsbookheaven.com/si...
September 24, 2017
This is the third of Lin Wilder’s books I’ve read, and the only non-fiction title, the first two being instalments 1 and 2 of her Lindsey McCall series. It is the memoir of Lin’s own life and her diversion from, then return to religion. Ironically, and somewhat surprisingly for me, it is the best I’ve read from her, without a shadow of doubt. I may not be a believer to any degree, yet Lin’s biography had me spellbound, and I simply couldn’t put it down until midway (and even then only because my tablet’s battery died).
I was a tad skeptical before reading “Finding the Narrow Path…”, having advised Lin that faith was as alien to me as any subject could be, and, if I’m totally honest, a little wary of being subjected to pages and pages of scripture interpretation. But, this couldn’t have been further from the truth: this is not a book about religion, but about Lin’s life, about which religion emerges later as a prominent ingredient; she does not impose her belief, but simply acknowledges its notable role in her life in a matter-of-fact manner.
This writing style is prevalent through the whole book, and it would be obtuse of the reader not to understand why: her writing style has given her the discipline to be incredibly candid and honest, and, perhaps more notably, immensely courageous, opening up about episodes in her life which must have been pure agony to live through, let alone relive and put on display; I believe there is little, if anything, she has held back. She makes no excuses for her behaviour – the guilt and shame Lin clearly feels at some of the decisions she has made in life are gifted to the reader by her. I’m in no doubt this is entirely intentional: her biography is not an exercise in narcissism or vanity, I think it is more therapeutic than that: like her decision to join the Catholic church, it is her absolution.
Lin’s story, while not particularly uncommon, is heartbreaking at times and inspirational at others, and I have a much greater affection for the author now I have read it. I respect Lin hugely, having read her tale, both for her humanity and her author credentials. I also realize just how much of herself she puts into her fiction books; I have commented in previous reviews of her work how impressive her professional credentials might be – having read her life story, I am now in no doubt; Lin’s medical career is an outstanding one, and there are a great number of similarities between Lin and her recurring heroine Lindsey McCall, both in terms of their professional experiences and personal traumas; I will, in future, view Ms. McCall’s adventures in an entirely new light. I also have confirmed now that Lin‘s vast pool of knowledge and experience to draw from is genuine, and most of it her own.
This is an extremely well written book, completely different in pace to Lin’s novels. It is almost as if the fiction is Lin’s “work” voice, and this is her “true” voice – a very pleasant and endearing one at that; I loved reading it. Lin is an extremely talented wordsmith, an attribute more apparent in this book of genuine love, perhaps, than her fiction. I know she will hate me for saying this, and perhaps I am nit-picking, but I feel the punctuation could do with a little polish, otherwise, the prose of this book is perfect. It is not until the two-thirds point that the language of religion begins proper, but it is not rhetoric – Lin does not preach, but simply narrates her own studies of faith and theology in depth (being Lin, of course, she researched her decision to join the Catholic church thoroughly). Still, I have to confess that it was around this point that the book became nonsensical to me; this is not down to Lin’s pen – indeed, at these points she is ever more eloquent – but, instead, because of my own inability to comprehend faith; absolution seems to me the main reason people return to faith in middle age, but, as somebody free of guilt in life, the whole concept of it, to me, seems absurd. Unfortunately (and unfairly, I confess) were I more open to religion, and felt more affiliated to her in this respect, I believe I would have scored Lin the full five stars for her truly excellent writing.
One thing us writers can relate to is Lin’s perhaps fundamental underlying issue: that of an arrogant child not just resolving, but expecting, to achieve, until one day, in mid-life, we realize the path our life has taken has left a very large hole; Lin appears to have been fortunate enough to realize hers could be filled with faith, and though I don’t relate to that, I can certainly understand it.
I was a tad skeptical before reading “Finding the Narrow Path…”, having advised Lin that faith was as alien to me as any subject could be, and, if I’m totally honest, a little wary of being subjected to pages and pages of scripture interpretation. But, this couldn’t have been further from the truth: this is not a book about religion, but about Lin’s life, about which religion emerges later as a prominent ingredient; she does not impose her belief, but simply acknowledges its notable role in her life in a matter-of-fact manner.
This writing style is prevalent through the whole book, and it would be obtuse of the reader not to understand why: her writing style has given her the discipline to be incredibly candid and honest, and, perhaps more notably, immensely courageous, opening up about episodes in her life which must have been pure agony to live through, let alone relive and put on display; I believe there is little, if anything, she has held back. She makes no excuses for her behaviour – the guilt and shame Lin clearly feels at some of the decisions she has made in life are gifted to the reader by her. I’m in no doubt this is entirely intentional: her biography is not an exercise in narcissism or vanity, I think it is more therapeutic than that: like her decision to join the Catholic church, it is her absolution.
Lin’s story, while not particularly uncommon, is heartbreaking at times and inspirational at others, and I have a much greater affection for the author now I have read it. I respect Lin hugely, having read her tale, both for her humanity and her author credentials. I also realize just how much of herself she puts into her fiction books; I have commented in previous reviews of her work how impressive her professional credentials might be – having read her life story, I am now in no doubt; Lin’s medical career is an outstanding one, and there are a great number of similarities between Lin and her recurring heroine Lindsey McCall, both in terms of their professional experiences and personal traumas; I will, in future, view Ms. McCall’s adventures in an entirely new light. I also have confirmed now that Lin‘s vast pool of knowledge and experience to draw from is genuine, and most of it her own.
This is an extremely well written book, completely different in pace to Lin’s novels. It is almost as if the fiction is Lin’s “work” voice, and this is her “true” voice – a very pleasant and endearing one at that; I loved reading it. Lin is an extremely talented wordsmith, an attribute more apparent in this book of genuine love, perhaps, than her fiction. I know she will hate me for saying this, and perhaps I am nit-picking, but I feel the punctuation could do with a little polish, otherwise, the prose of this book is perfect. It is not until the two-thirds point that the language of religion begins proper, but it is not rhetoric – Lin does not preach, but simply narrates her own studies of faith and theology in depth (being Lin, of course, she researched her decision to join the Catholic church thoroughly). Still, I have to confess that it was around this point that the book became nonsensical to me; this is not down to Lin’s pen – indeed, at these points she is ever more eloquent – but, instead, because of my own inability to comprehend faith; absolution seems to me the main reason people return to faith in middle age, but, as somebody free of guilt in life, the whole concept of it, to me, seems absurd. Unfortunately (and unfairly, I confess) were I more open to religion, and felt more affiliated to her in this respect, I believe I would have scored Lin the full five stars for her truly excellent writing.
One thing us writers can relate to is Lin’s perhaps fundamental underlying issue: that of an arrogant child not just resolving, but expecting, to achieve, until one day, in mid-life, we realize the path our life has taken has left a very large hole; Lin appears to have been fortunate enough to realize hers could be filled with faith, and though I don’t relate to that, I can certainly understand it.
September 19, 2016
Fascinating Story of a top administrator of hospital beginning to search for more... now up
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October 26, 2016
I could relate to the perils of a convicted Catholic.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews