The Myth of the American Dream: Reflections on Affluence, Autonomy, Safety, and Power

by D.L. Mayfield

>2020 ECPA Top Shelf Book Cover Award

Publishers Weekly starred review.

Affluence, autonomy, safety, and power. These are the central values of the American dream. But are they compatible with Jesus' command to love our neighbor as ourselves?

In essays grouped around these four values, D. L. Mayfield asks us to pay attention to the ways they shape our own choices, and the ways those choices affect our neighbors. Where did these values come from? How have they failed those on the edges of our society? And how can we disentangle ourselves from our culture's headlong pursuit of these values and live faithful lives of service to God and our neighbors?

Genres: Nonfiction, Christian, Politics, Religion, Faith, Theology, Memoir

207 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 5, 2020

About the author

D. L. Mayfield lives and writes in Portland, OR with her husband and two small children. Mayfield likes to write about refugees, theology, and downward mobility, among other topics. She has written for places as varied as McSweeneys, Christianity Today, Image journal, and the Toast. Her book of essays, Assimilate or Go Home: Notes from a Failed Missionary on Rediscovering Faith is forthcoming from HarperOne in August 2016.

Reviews

[Genevieve Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book expecting to hear about the dangers of allowing American cultural values to draw Christians' focus away from the gospel and onto worldly controversies and concerns. Instead, this book is about how Christians need to focus more on worldly concerns.

After another look at the title and blurb, I'm not sure why I thought this was going to be a Christian book, except that I got it from the religion section on NetGalley. I suppose it is, technically, a Christian book, in that it is engaged in a brutal wrestling match with the author's religious upbringing and self-image, mentions the Holy Spirit quite a bit, and does use Biblical stories as metaphors.

However, I would say that it's more of a spiritual book rather than a Christian one. Though certainly very present among Christian communities, the cultural values with which Mayfield is fighting a battle to the death (several of them mentioned in the book title) will be familiar to any American of almost any background.

Her clarion call to lift up the weak, work alongside the marginalized, and weep with the oppressed is religiously indiscriminate, and a widely-recognized moral value among people who don't believe in any higher power at all. Her convictions are outwardly draped in the robes of Jesus, but activists of all stripes should be able to nod along with her zeal to dismantle power structures and radically engage with privilege.

If you can't tell, I'm deeply divided on how to rate this book.

On the one hand, Jesus didn't come to offer salvation to mankind, actually. Apparently, he came to change earthly economics to be more fair!

I don't want to simplify or distort Mayfield's argument in order to create a straw man to criticize, because it is far more complex than what I just said. But. After reading the book I think I can confidently state that she genuinely feels that the central message of Jesus and the Bible in general is that God wants all of us to fix as many earthly problems for as much of humanity as we possibly can. Here is a quote:

"What we want is the imagination to believe in heaven coming down to earth, in God's will being done to our neighbors, to shalom being experienced by those who have and are suffering the most. And this will not happen until we change the systems that actually created and uphold the way the United States works, the way America actually is, and until we own it as our own."

Here is another:

"I will never be happy until every single person in the world is safe, happy, and flourishing. I was both pleased and miserable at my core longing. I was pleased because it spoke to a spark of the divine in me because I do believe that this is God's dream for the world. I think this is what shalom is, what the Kingdom of God makes possible. But I was also miserable because until the kingdom comes in full, until we are in the new creation, this isn't a reality."

I am not sure what kind of pre- or post-Millennial theology Mayfield ascribes to, but it is clear that she believes in some kind of new creation where Jesus reigns on a physical earth renewed and restored to pre-Fall perfected bliss. However, she also seems convicted that true morality for a Christian (or anyone) is singlehandedly prying the fatally flawed and explicitly doomed earth back into pre-Fall bliss through sheer elbow grease, force of will, and moral anguish.

There seems to be a great tension in her heart, and two magnetic poles between which she wobbles in agony. She sees and acknowledges her own savior complex, her own perfectionism, control issues, and struggle with a works-based mentality in the book, yet she still seems trapped by them. She sees her constant sadness and outrage at the unjust state of the world as a virtue, and happiness as a failure, a sign of apathy and moral weakness. Yet she also talks about learning to take joy in every small moment from her multicultural refugee friends, and acknowledges that sorrow is only helpful when you come to the other side of the psalm and reaffirm hope in God's love and goodness.

While Jesus is mentioned a lot in this book, Mayfield recounts a memory of a vision/dream she had while drugged up in the hospital after almost dying: she feasted in heaven around a table with Rohingya refugees and heard a voice implied to be that of God saying, "In heaven, you will feast with those who have suffered the most on earth."

This message, in some ways, is directly from the Bible. In the sermon on the mount. In the first chapter of James. In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. In 1 Corinthians 1, where Paul says, "For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God."

Mayfield sees this with crystal clarity. However, the entire chapter before the part I quoted shows that Paul is talking not about the virtue of being poor, but the virtue of being humble enough to accept the message of Christ crucified when all the highly-esteemed parts of the world we live in see it as foolishness. Where is Jesus in Mayfield's vision? She mentions his name a lot, but where is He? To her, salvation seems to come not through Jesus, but through the moral righteousness of being poor, being oppressed, and being sad. All those looking for a messiah in the time of Jesus were also looking for him to "dismantle oppressive hierarchies," and they were mistaken.

Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me. He said, My kingdom is not of this world.

I can't affirm the soundness in any perspective that doesn't put Jesus at the center of salvation, of life, of everything we do.

However, I said I was conflicted. On the OTHER hand, Mayfield makes a whole lot of very important and convicting points that I think a lot of the American Christian establishment could benefit from taking a long, hard look at. Here is a sampling:

• The American virtue of autonomy. This is one that doesn't occur to me as often as some of the others, but was instantly convicting. I know that generally Western and especially American culture puts a lot of space between people. From how far away we stand when talking to people, to how far away our houses are from each other, to how close our family units tend to be, ours is a culture of individual over the group. I grew up knowing the names of one or two of my neighbors at the most and seeing them maybe once every five years during odd situations; this seems normal to me, but the majority of people in the world don't live this way.

Almost all non-Western people, the vast majority of world population, live in communities where neighbors know each other, where different generations of families live in the same house, where your business is everyone's business and everyone's is yours. As someone who loves to use the self-checkout at the grocery store to avoid human interaction as much as possible, this sounds borderline terrifying, but this is the kind of culture to which Jesus came. These are the kind of cultures to which the gospel was first preached.

Christians know we are ambassadors for Christ's message, but what does it say that one of the anecdotes about sharing Christ that I most commonly hear is about a 3-minute passing conversation with a grocery clerk? We are not to be of the world, but how can we share Christ if we are not in the world. Withdrawing further and further from close community relationships can only hurt our ability to show God's love to the world, and about that Mayfield is absolutely right.

• America as Rome. "There is nothing in Scripture, nothing in Jesus, that says my proud and terrible and interesting country is particularly blessed, has some special favor, has some special reason for existence," Mayfield says. Most of us have probably run into a sermon or a curriculum in which the United States is presented as the modern Israel, the Chosen Nation of the Christian era. Mayfield argues that, instead, the US is more like Rome or Babylon -- the powerful empire of the era, casting a shadow of spiritual error and physical suffering in which the people of God must live.

"We were founded as a Christian nation!" so many people say. There's probably some sense in which that is true, but it doesn't matter for any one of us individually. "Be sure that it is those of faith who are sons of Abraham." (Gal 3:7) The new Israel is those of all nations who follow God, not those who were born within a specific political boundary drawn on a map.

• Generosity. As a dyed-in-the-wool skinflint from day one, this is a hard one for me, but I think this is one of the best and strongest points included in this book. Mayfield talks about how we as a culture pursue affluence, and even positive practices widely encouraged like living within our means, investing wisely, and good financial management can be spiritually destructive if we start relying on ourselves and thinking we are in control. She talks about a time when she didn't give to a panhandler, saying, "If I was listening to the Spirit I would have given... believing that I had a role in providing for others just as I trusted that my own needs would be provided for."

That kind of mindset, exemplified by Mayfield's stories of her refugee friends who think nothing of giving even when they have little, like the widow with her mite or the church in Macedonia, is utterly alien to me. I have plenty, and still shudder at the thought of giving any away just in case the worst happens and I need it later. As a Christian, that's not how I should think. Consider the lilies of the field, after all. But I don't. I like to rely on myself, and only rely on God when I have no other recourse. A completely backwards relationship.

I have rarely heard a sermon on the Rich Young Ruler that didn't spend half its time disclaiming that being rich is okay, God never says being rich is wrong, as long as your priorities are right. That's not at all anywhere near the point of the encounter, and I think it speaks to a tendency to hoard that is shared by more than myself. Christians are told to "labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need." I think this is something we don't talk about enough, and that I needed to hear.

• Worldly success as the reward of virtue, and worldly struggles as a punishment for some moral failure. Even those who speak with contempt of the prosperity gospel can get tricked into holding this assumption, because it is one of the base elements of American culture and almost impossible to escape. We are told that if you work hard, you will succeed. Therefore, what are we to think about people who don't succeed? Well, they must not have worked hard.

It's a simple, intuitive arithmetic that's reinforced by much of our culture. Especially upper middle class white culture. And it leaves out half the story, while completely ignoring what the Bible says. "For some, the good news of the American Dream feels like bad news," says Mayfield. "I live in neighborhoods where I see the evidence of it everywhere: payday loan companies and fast food joints abound, but there are no green parks or community centers or apartments that are affordable."

I think she makes a powerful point using "good news" and "American Dream" in the same sentence like that, because they are not at all the same, and we make a grave mistake with possibly far-reaching consequences when we conflate them. God does not promise that wealth follows righteousness, so judging those who don't achieve it as if they somehow proved unworthy should sound ridiculous to any Christian.

• American evangelical paranoia with losing the culture war. Mayfield says that white Evangelicals who panic at the thought of becoming a minority in their own country are thinking empire thoughts. The Church is meant to be a remnant, a people set apart, wanderers in a land not our own. Not an empire. I think the point she makes about those in power fearing to lose it is a poignant one, and for Christians a dangerous one, since the last shall be first and the first shall be last. If our peace of mind comes from our position of cultural dominance and can be shaken so easily, we can hardly be trusting in God.

[Rebecca Ramirez · Rating 1 out of 5]

I played myself. I came into this book expecting an orderly, fact-driven, God-centered, well researched study on the idea of the American dream-how it began, how it changed, and how people and systems have worked to keep it exclusive even as ‘whiteness’ became more inclusive. I also thought the author was brown. (100% my bad for not googling beforehand.)

Instead, I found an admittedly well-intentioned white woman writing a book that from the introduction is completely dripping with white guilt and misplaced pity. Even as Mayfield urges the reader (white & affluent) to view marginalized people as equal and deserving of dignity, she consistently portrays those same people as needing to be pitied, taken care of, and admired simply because they are brown and don’t spend every day cursing their own existence. In the section where she briefly touches on gentrification and what lament should look like for those in power in light of that, Mayfield inadvertently reveals exactly how she views those ‘struggling most in our midst’ when she implores the reader “to become downwardly oriented” in order to help them.

The focus of this book is Mayfield‘s feelings of guilt and sadness about racism and injustice, not on the injustice itself and certainly not on the people most affected. Her obsession with reminding herself and the reader that no matter what there are always brown people suffering more than you – even as she almost dies in childbirth - just comes across as a twisted form of self-pity for being born a white, middle-class American. There is a borderline fetishization of brown suffering and definitely a romanticization of poverty.

I hope one day Mayfield remembers that we are called to freedom in the Spirit, and that the first fruit of the spirit may be love – which she definitely has covered - but the second is joy, and the third is peace. I don’t think this unhealthy guilt and refusal to allow oneself to experience joy is what God wants, but I know for a fact it’s not what people of color want or need.

If you’d like to read about the wide and varied history of people of color here in the United States, written by people of color, here’s a small list: New Jim Crowe by Michelle Alexander, Invisible Man by Ralph Ellis, A Different Mirror by Ronald Takaki, Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward, Bad Indians by Deborah a Miranda, the heartbeat of wounded knee by David treuer, Recovering History Constructing Race by Martha Menchaca, Harvest of Empire by Juan Gonzalez, The Making of Asian America by Erika Lee, and Emerging Voices by Huping Ling.

[Grace Humbles · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a gift to the church. More specifically, it's a huge gift to white, American Christians like myself. I grew up homeschooled, surrounded by well-meaning homeschool parents who were eager to make sure their kids had a safe, good, Christian upbringing. They were doing their best. But, as Mayfield's book powerfully argues, there is something far greater than that "best": nothing less than a commitment to seeing all of God's children in every neighborhood flourish.

This isn't an easy book to read. But it's an important book. If you've ever had a feeling that there must be more to life than the script many of us are handed at birth (go to college, get a good job, get married, buy a house in a nice neighborhood, send kids to a "good school," etc.), then this book is a must read.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary: A collection of Christian reflections chronicling the author's awakening to the ways the American dream neither works for everyone nor reflects the values of the kingdom Jesus inaugurated.

D. L. Mayfield reminds me of Tara Westover, author of Educated. Both were homeschooled in strongly religious backgrounds, albeit far more healthy and functional in the case of Mayfield. What distinguishes them are their very different awakenings, Westover to a love of learning that led her to Harvard and Cambridge, and Mayfield to an awakening to how the structures of the American Dream neither reflected her Christian commitments nor worked well for many in the north Portland neighborhood where she and her husband lived.

Mayfield describes this "American Dream" in terms of four concrete values: affluence, autonomy, safety and power. She recognizes that the proclamation of Jubilee of Jesus in Luke 4 speaks to people whose lives are characterized by just the opposite: the poor, the captive, the blind, and and the oppressed.

Perhaps the most winsome aspect of these essays is that the author takes us through the deconstructing of these American Dream values in her own life. Teaching English to immigrant women, she learns by the annoying ringing of phones what it means to live from paycheck to paycheck in an affluent society. She watches the struggles of her neighbors to meet rising rents in gentrifying Portland. She finds her autonomy challenged by Maryan, whose "magic pot" gets shared around the community and is preferred by her and all to the Insta-pot Mayfield thought would make her life better and more self-sustaining. Instead of the free range educational experience of her youth, she understands the critical important of her neighborhood public school to her community.

Perhaps at no time in history has a concern for safety been greater. It has led us to close our borders and fear of the other. Yet we have a 1 in 6 chance of dying of heart disease, 1 in 7 of cancer, but 1 in 3.6 million of dying in a terrorist attack. Yet the reality of the refugee experience turned Mayfield's perspective around as she came to understand the dangers these people had endured. She describes how she and her mother experienced the welcome of Muslim families, and found herself hoping for her children that they would so learn in these experiences the love of Christ: "that they are known and valued and love."

She speaks trenchantly of the deleterious effects of American power on the evangelical faith of her upbringing:

   Empire focuses on ideological sameness: make the narrative easy, make it clear. Pharaoh will save you. Caesar will put bread in your belly. The president will make our country great again. This leads to small, deformed imaginations--I see it in how White evangelical Christianity has been tangled up in the same pull toward greatness, toward power, toward viewing ourselves as specially anointed by God to rule the world, to hold and be in charge. This leads to a sense of scarcity, a hallmark of pharaohs throughout the centuries: the all consuming fear of losing power. I have seen it in the fights for religious liberty that excludes those who aren't Christian, in the narrative that says we are losing the culture war and must fight with every tooth and nail to hold our ground.... But most important is the belief that exile is a reality to be ignored and feared at all costs, a strange ideological position for those who claim to follow the God of the Israelites (p. 147).

Mayfield challenges us in another essay in this section to learn from the exiles, including exiles from the American Dream like Ida B. Wells, black anti-lynching crusader who had to flee her business and home in Memphis because of threats on her life. She reminds us that Christians are aliens and exiles in the world enthralled with the vision of our coming King, who look for its coming, not in affluence, autonomy, safety and power, but through the cracks in the sidewalks, the neglected yet joyful schools, poor and yet interdependent neighbors, all anticipating the New City to come.

The phrase that characterizes Mayfield's writing for me is "raw elegance." It is raw with the realities of her city and elegant in the depth of reflectiveness that looks beyond failed myths, and the poverty of her community, to glimpse the dream of a greater kingdom. It is a time where the flaws and inadequacies of the American dream have been exposed in its dependence on excessive consumerism built on systemic inequities, and where our impregnable safety and power has been riddled by a microscopic virus.  Voices like Mayfield's are needed to point us to a better dream--one large enough to encompass the poor, the captive, the blind, and the powerless--all of us really. Will we fight to cling to what we must ultimately lose, or listen to what will save us?

________________________________

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

[Cat Caird · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book wasn't what I expected. I thought it would be clinical and analytical but instead it runs deep with conviction, unveiling the darkness that hides under the guise of the American Dream. It made my heart heavy to read, I felt the weight of injustice that the author encounters every day and I felt the hurt and frustration rolling off each page. She rightly points out that the American dream carries a cost so high it means that those who suffer for it will always be those on the edge of society. It's the same in the UK, although there are some differences. There was a lot in the book that really challenged me, particularly what community looks like & how we truly love our neighbors & neighborhood. But the one thing that it lacked was talking more about how Jesus offers a better dream. This is what I had hoped the book was about, more of a comparison to how the gospel holds out a better hope. The author rightly calls out white evangelical churches & their lack of loving their neighbors & embracing power, but a better hope needs to be held out to people and that hope can only be found in Christ. I felt quite conflicted about this as the challenge of the book struck me hard and there were glimmers of gospel hope scattered here and there but I wanted and needed more.

[Carlos Dominguez · Rating 1 out of 5]

D.L. Mayfield's The Myth of the American Dream is an abomination; an insult; an unjustified rebuke to my refugee parents, and to my broader community, most of whom are the children of immigrants or refugees. Mayfield predictably and entirely fails in her egotistic ambition to dismantle a cornerstone of the United States: the pursuit of happiness and economic prosperity. The Myth is neither economic nor legal nor theological in its analysis while any discussion of "The American Dream" is fundamentally economical; legal; and theological. Indeed, the roll call of those who have far, far more ably dismantled material aspects of the American Dream, include: W.E.B. Du Bois; F.L. Hamer; James Baldwin; Martin Luther King; Carson Vaughan; and, more recently, Thomas Pikkety, the French economist; The Myth does not. Neither does Mayfield engage in the seminal work of two Princeton economists: Angus Deaton and Ann Case; both have written about the Deaths of Despair haunting poor white and black communities' shot at the American Dream now dismantled by the death of American manufacturing.

What then is the book about? The Myth is an account of a privileged white woman who puts herself at the center of the book; for example, there is profusion of personal pronouns "I," "mine," and "me." Who but a privileged white woman can boast: "I like to display my values on the front lawn," or "I am proud of my tolerance?" Indeed, the book is a tedious account of a white woman doing "good work" among people of color and failing. Consider the author's sentence: "Quickly I realized that my charity was a failure. I could not fix generations of trauma, war, economic oppression, and political persecution with a few English worksheets or a bag of donated clothes." Why this endless insatiable need by white people to fix the Other who are part of the American fabric? Put another way, why are Mayfield and her tribe so proficient at Otherizing? Indeed, why is she and her caste so incapable of talking to us as equals? Why are we, here and abroad, always receptacles of this tribe's virtuous actions? Indeed, why are Mayfield and her tribe endlessly virtue-signalling since Jesus has explicitly commanded all of us to keep our virtuous actions private?

Who are we immigrants? Many immigrants and refugees realize that the United States is imperfect; and yet all of us strive for a better tomorrow and we do achieve material measure of life; liberty; happiness and freedom: we belong to rich; faith anchored communities; some of us work in factories and clean houses so that our children might prosper; some become roofers; building contractors; plumbers and welders; some graduate from college and get good jobs as medical doctors; public school principals; engineers; some of us come to these united states with advanced degrees and move up the ranks; many of us deny ourselves joy hoping that the our children will succeed; some among us fail, but we, the next generation, carry the torch; all of us strive to have families and seek economic prosperity for ourselves and those back home (remittances); all of us try to give back to our communities, and by extension, to the larger set: the American commons. All of us are not impervious to lament since we listen to our parents' stories of loss or we leave behind place; history; and family, but together we hope, because America is, but more importantly, because God reigns on the throne. We face racism but we still long for the new day. Indeed, in light of God's hope, we move forward. In light of the resurrection of Jesus, we are not moved. Some of us belong to other faith expressions' communities but we all still wait for a better tomorrow; we strive; and we seek the common good. We do not resemble Mayfield's hopeless characters, like Rani or the unnamed Somalian ladies. Why are we repeatedly reduced to our deficits and why are not our assets recognized? Why do people, white women like Katherine Boo and Mayfield, handicap us and why are they so reluctant to see us creatures being made whole? Crucially, our story is ours to tell, not Mayfield's, but she does, and her bloviating book is the hideous end result.

Who then is Mayfield's target audience? The Myth Of The American Dream was written for misanthropes: middle class; theologically educated; hyper-woke; white privileged and white adjacent privileged evangelical and ex-evangelical Americans, all of whom unconditioned to celebrate stories of the Others' success, ones who are incapable of celebrating the prospering and the striving Other. The Myth is their book.

[Richard Propes · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a weird experience to read D.L. Mayfield's "The Myth of the American Dream: Reflections on Affluence, Autonomy, Safety, and Power" while hunkered down alone in my three-bedroom home located in one of the rougher areas of Indianapolis's Eastside.

Not quite in my mid-50's, I'm a paraplegic/double amputee who has far outlived my life expectancy with spina bifida and who only recently spent 3+ months off work due to amputation of my left leg above the knee.

I work full-time. I own my home. I drive. I'm an activist here in Indianapolis in the area of violence prevention and have helped raise upwards of a million bucks for charities worldwide.

Yet, the lesson I learn time and time again in life is that I'm disposable.

A Catholic priest told my mother shortly after my birth that it was "God's will" that I die. No kidding.

Time after time after time in my life, my greatest efforts have still often led to exclusion and separation and segregation and somehow always being "less than" others.

I have had relationships end because I could not be the man they wanted me to be. I've, quite literally, lost body parts because mine were deemed of lesser value.

I have, I am embarrassed to admit, spent most of my life pushing myself to the point of self-harm simply trying to be "enough."

Yet, I am never enough. I am told this time and time and time again.

I sought the American Dream, or at least some version of it, but consistently found myself sitting in my wheelchair outside what felt like an impenetrable chain-link fence with the American Dream somewhere out of reach up some inaccessible stairway.

With "The Myth of the American Dream," Mayfield explores what she perceives to be the central values of the American Dream - Affluence, Autonomy, Safety, and Power. Writing essays wrapped around each of these values, Mayfield delves into an examination of whether or not these values, or better spoken "The American Dream," is truly compatible with the teachings of Jesus Christ.

It should be no secret the conclusion that she reaches.

"The Myth of the American Dream" is a critique of what has become known as the American Dream and of what has become, far too often, recognized as the contemporary Christian journey. It is also, however, a critique that Mayfield turns within as she's never hesitant to turn that societal microscope on herself and to point out her own mistakes, flaws, weaknesses, and inconsistencies.

"The Myth of the American Dream" will most resonate with those who appreciate a more progressive Christian theology, though "red letter" Christians will also find much to embrace here. Those who follow a prosperity theology, think Joel Osteen, will likely reject the thoughts put forth here while others will find both food for thought and bristling conflicts.

"The Myth of the American Dream" is a weaving together of biblical teaching, personal testimony, and a probing, not particularly gently, of the systemic ways in which living the Christian life can and should conflict with attaining of affluence, autonomy, safety, and power.

Mayfield, a pastor's daughter and acclaimed author of "Assimilate or Go Home," has spent much of her adult life living within Muslim communities abroad and, more recently, working with Muslim refugees here in the U.S. Along the way, she has observed the myriad of ways in which the American dream is rigged and exclusive of those who don't fit within the majority culture. As a middle class white woman, Mayfield is acutely aware that she is both part of the problem and part of the solution.

It is a powerful experience to read "The Myth of the American Dream" in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic that has, indeed, derailed the American dream for thousands of citizens. We are learning first-hand about the inequities of the system, some of which we knew and some which are far greater than we'd ever imagined. While I've long experienced that sense of being disposable, we're caught up now very much in this conflict between those who want to tread lightly as we learn about the virus and deal with its impact and those for whom the risk is lower and the desire to "open America" is greater.

Almost without exception, or so it seems, those supporting "opening up" are those for whom the socioeconomic system is naturally biased toward quite intentionally. Refugees are not being welcomed in order to "protect America" while those already at great risk in the U.S. are having their concerns disregarded or are simply being regarded as disposable.

"They're going to die soon anyway," we so frequently hear.

At times, I longed for Mayfield to delve deeper into the issues being presented. While she writes about those refugees seeking safety and fleeing violence or corruption or poverty, there's little time given to those who come simply seeking their own piece of what they perceive to be the "American Dream." At times, it seems like Mayfield practically idolizes the cultures of others yet fails to recognize their own flaws, weaknesses, and even those things that contributed to people fleeing their birth homes. Every culture, I would counter, struggles with the balance of some sort of "dream" and every culture struggles with affluence, autonomy, safety, and power yet Mayfield spends most of her time writing about why the American dream has become misdirected yet, somehow, the cultures from which people come are somehow preferable.

There are, of course, legitimate observations to be made. In fact, for the most part I agree with a good majority of Mayfield's conclusions. I simply wish she'd spent more time in exploring why people leave a culture that would seem to be much more theologically sound for a society that she is claiming is not. What's the difference? Even for those forced to leave due to war or violence, why do they choose the U.S.?

At times, as well, I thought the debate became somewhat muddled between whether the true concern is the American dream itself or the lack of equity to pursue it. Mayfield makes it clear that Jesus himself benefited from those who had wealth and certainly was known to party, yet there are times when "The Myth of the American Dream" seems to admonish the actual dream while later arguing that the real problem is equity in moving toward it. She confesses that the perfect community is one where everyone has the opportunity to pursue the American dream, essentially the opportunity to have enough, yet she often responds guiltily when she realizes that she has wanted or attained something more individualistic in nature as if somehow "want" is inherently bad.

I wrestled with "The Myth of the American Dream." I wrestled with it mightily and that's a terrific thing. I agreed with it. I disagreed with it. I laughed. I cried. I exclaimed. I researched. I learned. I felt admonished. I felt convicted. I looked inward. I did pretty much all the things one should do after reading a book like "The Myth of the American Dream" and I wrestle with these words still. Truthfully, I've changed my rating for the book several times even while writing this review, always vacillating between 4 and 5-stars and desperately wanting a 4.5 rating to be available because I can't help but think this is a book everyone should read precisely because it will lead to self-examination, open discussions, and lots of necessary learning.

Ultimately, "The Myth of the American Dream: Reflections on Affluence, Autonomy, Safety, and Power" is a book I loved, though it's also a book that I wished had gone deeper and a book that, at times, revealed an unacknowledged privilege from which the writer writes and shares perspectives. Nevertheless, this is a beautifully written book that I will undoubtedly read again and will undoubtedly encourage others to read. It's likely a book that will continue to inform my theological life and my own personal beliefs and practices as a "disposable" adult with a disability who both understands the oppressive nature of the socioeconomic system here in the U.S. and the ways that even within my own challenges I remain privileged by it.

"The Myth of the American Dream" will be released by InterVarsity Press on May 5th.

[Kelley · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF
I believe Mayfield has good intentions. And I echo much of her pursuit of justice and equality for all. Somehow her narrative and craft just didn't sit right with me. I wanted to be in agreement, but the way she centered herself and continued the white saviorism ideology of "Otherness" when referring to BIPOC was hard to get past. It felt more like it was written for her ego than anything else, and I couldn't see past that to figure out what the point was other than diatribing about her pursuit of being woke and hating on herself for being white and privileged. It did not portray brown people as being capable to thrive without white people rescuing them, which made me uncomfortable because I don't think that's true at all. It also gave me an undercurrent of the same vibes I have felt from my fundamentalist upbringing but with leftist packaging, in that was simultaneously self-depracating and self-righteous.

[Kaitlin Kline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oof.

[Breanna Randall · Rating 4 out of 5]

“this is what we should fear: what our own desperate desire for safety might end up doing to those who are beloved in the eyes of God”

If you are a white North American, you'll find much of this book relatable (and probably discomfiting at times!). Mayfield writes a critique of commonly accepted American values, and observes the ways that these values exclude and oppress, the way that the American dream is actually a burden built upon the bodies of people who are invisible to us, people who we have overlooked or ignored.

This critique is timely, full of challenging questions, and hinges on hope: that God loves the world and is propelling us all into a community that is more spacious and tender than any American dream.

(thanks to Netgalley and IVP for this ARC of this book)

[Jessie · Rating 1 out of 5]

A couple reviews by POC (search for the one-stars) have done a much better job than I could explaining what is wrong with this book and its author. Her fetishization of the poor and of POC is gross. Also: of the book's twenty-five chapters, twenty-four of them (AND the introduction and the epilogue) begin with a sentence that contains the word "I" or "my". Half of those sections literally open with "I". Telling.

The very high number of glowing five-star reviews with very similar words of praise is extremely suspicious. I'm guessing the vast majority are from Mayfield's social media followers or people who know her personally.

[Ellen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really want to agree with what Mayfield is saying. I think she’s onto something and though she says many concerning things, I can appreciate some of the ways that she challenges the lazy Christian to wake up. I actually thoroughly support her point in chapter 14, which after the first 13 chapters was a pleasant surprise. But overall, though I know where she is trying to go, she missed it. It’s just close enough to true that I fear this book could mislead many, and I highly recommend reading the 3-star review on here by Grace for more on that.

My brief review is: She gives a partial solution to a problem she partially addresses, and by omitting the most crucial part of the Biblical solution, failed to make a Biblical point. It’s a spiritual, mystic book that mentions Jesus, but not a Christian one.

My extensive review is... She has valid points about our tendency to believe in a passive Christ. He wasn’t passive or distant. He really did call out the elitist Pharisees. He really did care for the oppressed. He really did take tangible action and do miraculous ministry. He didn’t come just to get through those 30 years and die and resurrect so we could get through our 80 years and die and have eternal life. She’s right there. I also agree with her that many American Christians have sought affluence, autonomy, safety, and power over Christlikeness. Idolatry of the self is rampant in our culture, and we’d do well to evaluate Jesus’ life and teachings. He wasn’t teaching others to seek security and comfort. American ideals are not Christian ideals.

The problem is, disagreement with culture doesn’t mean you discount doctrine. Along with some offhand theological claims, somehow she has defined the “American Dream” as anything different than how people in poverty live, and made it evil. No mention of the blessing or benefit or anything else about the middle class that could possibly be used to glorify God. It’s all bad to her. The biggest fallacy is (follow me here)... Biblical doctrine = her middle-class upbringing, and her middle class upbringing = The American Dream, so Biblical doctrine = The American Dream, which is evil... She somehow drew these unequal things into one entity, and banished it all. But that’s not how it works. The Bible sets the precedent and is the unchanging truth, not the culture. People misinterpret and become lazy and prideful, and cultures change in minute ways that lead to dramatic differences over time. She throws the baby out with the bath water, which is clearly very dangerous when it regards the Bible. Over and over and over again, cultural norms and misguided values are to blame, but not once does she mention sin as a cause for anything. But... sin is the reason these happen. The corrupt systems and selfish agendas and misconstrued beliefs she addresses aren’t the problem; the sin that built the systems and agendas and misconstrued the Truth is. She found part of an issue but didn’t look deep enough to find the root, and thereby completely missed the point.

Mayfield loves to use the “If Jesus we’re here today, He would...” line, and I think she gets it halfway right. He would be with the least of these, He would graciously show us the ways that shame affect our ability to give and receive. However, He would also share the hope we can receive through Him. There’s no mention of the gospel’s importance, and she makes multiple references to God and Allah being the same, which is deeply concerning. Non-Christians can show us kindness, but they cannot “show us Christ’s love” as she states, because they don’t know Christ. She also goes so far as to say her neighbors are the ones “who have the keys to truly liberating us all...” YIKES. Jesus is portrayed as just a good guy we should be like, but not the Savior. Honestly, she kind of writes herself as the savior. The entire book is about her, and there’s not an inkling of HOPE in Christ in it. It’s pretty clear that she wants to be sad at the world and angry at everyone for not doing anything to help.

She hits hard on Christian responsibility to fight unjust systems of oppression. I completely agree that that is PART of our job here. Christians have commands to obey, and it’s not gonna happen if we all seek comfort just to get by in this life. However, again, she missed the Biblical why behind that responsibility. Our first responsibility to those around us is not to feed them or clothe them or teach them English. Yes, we should sacrifice, be strategic, and carry one another’s through the hardships of difficult ministry. We should do these things and more, but in order to share the gospel. Learning about the neighborhood and meeting tangible needs are good, but not the point. Our #1 responsibility to our neighbors, as commanded in Scripture, is to tell them about Christ. With that we take care of tangible needs- we don’t say “Jesus” and move on- but we cannot neglect the Gospel in our care for others. Meeting needs of someone’s 70-80 year experience on earth at the expense of their eternal soul is completely irresponsible and the most unloving thing we could do. Yet that is Mayfield’s solution. She straight up says “God’s dream” is for “every single person in the world to [to be] safe, happy, and flourishing”... Nope, sorry. Happiness now is not the end goal. I don’t think she even mentioned eternity in the entire book... 100% of her solutions regard physical needs on earth. This book is a quintessential example of the social gospel, so in the end, it’s incomplete.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Myth of the American Dream by D.L. Mayfield

For the past 3-4 years I have had a book on my heart to write. Not ever having done a writing project, and being deathly afraid of critiques, I took notes, blogged a bit, preached a series with the beginning ideas of the book, and generally avoided doing more.

I grew up in the 70s and 80s. My college years were the mid to late 80s. I grew up in a fundamentalist/Pentecostal church and went to a denominational school to study the Bible, theology, and missions. I also found the writing of Chuck Colson in the late 80s and was constantly challenged by his thinking. He wrote of a post-Christian America and how we needed to shift paradigms.

My thinking from that point on never “fit” with my upbringing… exactly. My formation early on happened in the Reagan years and being “pro-life” was IT. But in the late 80s, something changed. I began to SEE the poor. I studied thoroughly in Scriptures, making a years long study of the poor and marginalized.

In all of that, even as a pastor, I did not speak out nearly as much early on. By the time I was ready to… my denomination had radically shifted to an even harder “right wing” stance and I knew I was on my way out. Even without any sort of audience I still feared writing what needed to be said.

Enter D.L. Mayfield. From what I gather in her personal insights in her latest book The Myth of the American Dream I would guess she is about 10 years younger than me. And she writes with the ferocity I have felt.

The book I was going to write had a working title of “Living in Babylon.” It was about the cultural shifts and how ill-prepared the American conservative church was for this shift (ala Chuck Colson) and how we needed to prepare NOW for those shifts.

Mayfield has written that book. She has worked to bring down the curtain and expose, with fierce passion, the desperate situation we have in the American church.

Walter Brueggemann, an Old Testament scholar, calls the prophets “poets.” Mayfield gravitates to the term “poet” for her life. She’s right. AND she is a prophet. She raises the prophetic voice I need in my own life.

This book goes directly at main pillars of American myth: Affluence, Autonomy, Safety, and Power. In each section she raises awareness how each of these “dreams” work well for the majority culture (which is white… spoiler alert) and is still a fantasy for people of color. In her work, she has spent years with immigrants, so a lot of the stories are with immigrant families.

The beauty of Mayfield’s work is she is not writing to simply “tear down America.” She is seeking the Kingdom of God…and quite often finds the principles of the Kingdom among the marginalized.

I could write another review of her book with just her quotes, but here are few to raise your body temperature a bit:

White evangelicals like myself are uniquely unprepared to engage in issues from an institutional or systemic perspective.

The myth of the American Dream comes in many forms, but its most basic iteration goes like this: anyone can make something of themselves if only they try hard enough.

The antidote to these myths is to consciously remember those who are not writing the history textbooks.

(This last one stood out because just in the last few weeks Attorney General Bill Barr was asked in an interview how history would look back on the Trump administration and he said, summing up, history is written by the winners. So, pretty favorably.)

We need the voice of D.L. Mayfield. Her writing is passionate. She seeks the Kingdom of God and challenges what gets in the way. She is here to tear down strongholds and her words are taking no prisoners.

It is May 2020 when I write this and I can easily say this: This book is one of the best books I will read this year.

I wish I had her gutsiness. I am grateful she wrote the book I needed to write because this one is far superior.

[A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book that is beautifully written. I couldn’t put this book down as it was thoughtful, provoking, challenging and uplifting. For Christians who are questioning their church, this book may be one you relate to and addresses your feelings. It helped me. Also, loved the author’s descriptions of Minneapolis. As a resident, I’m happy to see the author capture the essence of our wonderful city.

[Aarik Danielsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most important books of the year, filled with poetry and fire and the call to imagine a world that is holy and whole.

[Adam Shields · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary: Is the American Dream and Christianity compatible?

A couple of years ago, I learned that the word ambivalent means "having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something or someone."  I realized that I have been using the word wrong before that. Since then, it keeps coming to mind. I have contradictory ideas about The Myth of the American Dream. It is a great book. I exported my notes and comments on it, and I have 66 pages, 1/3 of the book that has a comment or underlined section.

The narrative structure spoke to me because while I have never met DL Mayfield, she puts voice to many things I have felt. I have been following her writing for years, her cover story at Christianity Today on Lynching, her Washington Post piece on the revolutionary nature of Mary's Magnificant and too many more articles to list. The Myth of the American Dream, like following her on twitter or reading her work, is about putting out her pain and desire for the world to be different, more like the kingdom of God, on display to stir up something, anything in the reader.

The Myth of the American Dream I can't think of apart from the coincidental trilogy of books I read along with it. Along with this book, and Good, White Racist is Having Nothing, Possessing Everything. It is a couple of years old, but it has a similar structure of telling the story of how ministry, as traditionally done, doesn't work. Both books point out the weaknesses of unfettered capitalism, and individualistic consumerism contradicts with care for the other. They have different settings, Possessing Everything is about urban Indianapolis with mostly Black and Hispanic poor communities. Mayfield's lives in suburban Portland, with refugee communities struggling to find a place in the midst of gentrifying liberalism. Both bring up education and the problems of white saviors and real introspection about how we can harm as we attempt to serve.

With both the writing was excellent and the focus on how traditional White Protestant ministry often seeks to do for or reconstruct communities to look like we think they should instead of how God sees them. I do not know how to write about this book because I have far too much to talk about. How do I summarize nearly 70 pages of notes and highlights?  At the beginning of the book, she says, 'this is a book about paying attention.' And that is probably the best summary. The American Dream is about not paying attention to those who are not doing well—ignoring protests or poverty, or the systems that allow some of us to have much and many others to have almost nothing. It is not about who is working hardest. I can assure you that my work is not hard, but the 'essential worker' making minimum wage is working hard.

Mayfield brings to mind the many comments of the Old Testament prophets that remind us of how we treat the poor and marginalized and how that relates to those that are now poor and marginalized. What I appreciated about both Possessing Everything and The Myth of the American Dream is that they are focused not on ministry to, but being neighbors to the poor and marginalized.

"Asking people to do good, to give, to be charitable, becomes easy in these kinds of societies; asking them to be neighbors with those they most wish to help is not since it points out an inconvenient truth that most of us try hard to forget all the time: some of us have worked hard to make sure we are only neighorrs with certain kinds of people, and now we have to live with the results."

Mayfield cites Lisa Sharon Harper, who reminds us that the American Dream wants us to pay attention to the wrong thing. Scripture tells us to, 'train my eyes and ears toward those who have been saying consistently that all is not well'. The American Dream wants us to pay attention to the rich and powerful, the good life and to ignore others, if not outright condemn them for their poverty and weakness.

One of the significant strengths of The Myth of the American Dream is that Mayfield is not telling the reader what to do. This is not 'three steps to solve global poverty' or 'five steps to bring about justice in your community' book. Mayfield shows us how to lament what is wrong, her role in it, and the inability of many Christians to even notice. Under much of the book is the reverberations of racism and xenophobia. Many White authors share 'dumb White guy' stories or condemn those that just don't get it, Mayfield does not, she laments. Lament is a very biblical idea. It isn't about shame or spinning our wheels, trying to ask what we can do now. Lament is about crying out to God, and even better, crying out to God in community.

The Myth of the American Dream is not what I would call a 'feel-good' book. But it is a hopeful one. It is hopeful not because 'with God's strength all problems will be solved' but because the is awareness of God's kingdom and the very upsidedown methods that God tends to use.

All of this brings me to the ambivalence that I feel about this trilogy of books. These are excellent books, among the best books I have read about these issues. But I have read many of the same books these authors have. I know where the ideas behind the quotes are coming from. In large part, there are Black and Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) that have done the background thinking. Or they have done the individual mentoring that is required for almost every White person that is writing in areas like this. All three of these authors are citing their sources, highlighting the work of others that has helped them to see what they did not see before. They are telling good stories that hopefully will be read and help change other White people as well. But each time I read one of these books (and many others as well) I am reminded that generally, White people read other White people and the standard books being cited among these types of books, the BIPOC authors and ministry leaders that have done the background work, will not be read as much as these White authors will.

The Myth of the American Dream is a great book. But so was Twelves Lies that Hold America Captive and Unsettling Truth or dozens of other books that have not gained a widespread audience. Buy and read and learn from DL Mayfield's book. And then read the many books that she cites and has learned from so that we can start communicating to publishers and bookstores that White readers will read books that were written by people that are not White.

[Cara Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mayfield is a deep feeler and thinker whose writing sometimes comes across as more than weighty, heavy, to me - but this very reason is why I’ll keep reading her words, because this same weightiness stays with me long after the fact. That being said, I’m also so glad the epilogue ended on a lighter note (because some things, for me, apparently never change).

[Justin Lonas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A breath of fresh air, delivered with kindness and longing while ringing with a prophetic witness to that most un-worldly call—to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. Those who have ears, let them hear.

[Dustin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though D.L. Mayfield is clearly well-intentioned, this book missed the mark. I agreed with many of her underlying arguments (primarily centered around problematic evangelical American culture), but found myself frustrated throughout. She focuses largely on herself despite advising readers to focus on others. Too many of her examples of working with BIPOC are cringe-worthy. Did she write this only for white post-evangelical Americans? If this had been a magazine article, it may have been better. Maybe.

2.5 stars

[Sarai Hawkins · Rating 1 out of 5]

The author had some good, thought-provoking points, but she constantly muddled her message with overwhelming white guilt. Owning your privilege is good, especially when bringing to light the economic disparities that exist in our country, but constantly bemoaning it and acting like it is a sin to find joy amidst suffering defeated what I felt was the purpose of this entire book.

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was drawn to D.L. Mayfield’s writings because of her love of her neighbors, beautiful storytelling, and pursuit of truth. With that said, I loved the Myth of the American Dream. I feel like her writing and storytelling have really grown in this book and I was captivated by page one. She gently but truthfully pulls back the veil on what is the reality of the American Dream for so many. It’s an eye-opening, for the uninitiated, of systemic racism and classism that so many experience in the United States. It’s a timely message full of heart and the desire to shine the light on the lives of many in our midst. I didn’t agree with everything she said or even theologically land on the same page with her in some areas, but what’s the point of reading a book if you already agree with everything the author says? I loved the opportunity to be stretched in my worldview and examine my own heart for places I can let go of the “American Dream” so that my fellow immigrants, refugees, and other in generational poverty can rise up and experience the same “givens” I expect and want every day. I loved this quote about affluence from her book: “The antidote to affluence is not shame. It is, instead, thanksgiving. This is not a truth I learned on my own but one that has been revealed to me by my friends who excel in the duties of delight and gratitude and celebration, tempered by their very hard realities.”

Thank you for your perspective and voice, D.L.! It is much needed in a time like this. I would highly recommend this book to book clubs, men and women who want to expand their view of what IS the American Dream and what does Jesus have to say about it. Read it in a group, discuss it with your friends, your Bible study group. It’s well worth it!

[Ben Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

D.L. Mayfield has written an eye opening book full of empathy, insight, and actions we can take to help bring healing in our communities. This book is a Damascus road experience for all of us who were raised with a dream that the present is good and the future will inevitably be better. If we read this book with a willingness to see the world as it is and to see anew it can help us see the intentional and unintentional work of oppression in our world, our cities and towns, and in our neighborhoods. The questions are genuine but also punch you in the gut. "Someone's kids have to attend the worst school in your city. In you mind whose kids should that be?" It is the kind of question we would prefer to not be asked, but if you really hear it you will be haunted by the truth of it and all of the other truths it bears out about how we have built our society. We tend to avoid these kinds of questions, and therefor these kinds of books, because they can leave us feeling helpless. Mayfield refuses to leave us there, though, providing actionable and practical ways to bring some healing. This is no doe eyed optimism, but a stubborn and relentless optimism that requires quite a lot of us. This book is a gift and blessing to those who receive it as such, but may feel like a curse to those who are not prepared to have their eyes opened.

[Matt]

[This was an ARC via a giveaway Kerr won somewhere and my fourth (?) consecutive DNF...yay, pandemic reading!]

I grew up in the church. I was a preacher for a year. I can sling bible verses with the best of them—or could once upon a time, anyway, before I realized I could let that part of my brain rot—and look, I get it, America would be a better place if more Christians would examine what their bible actually says (and even the historical context in which the gospels were shaped and who made those decisions about which books merited inclusion, how they would be translated, etc, etc!) vs what American Christianity pretends it says. But I just can't respect a book that refuses to recognize that American Christianity is the problem and instead bases its critique on the idea that the church can fix America if they just rededicate themselves, etc, etc.

Look, there was so much potential here. And if even a fraction of her target audience read what she has to say and take tangible lessons about how to live their faith in a way that doesn't perpetuate unjust systems that reward white people (especially those born in certain strata/socioeconomics, etc) above all others, well, that's something good. I think I was just hoping for something a little harder hitting.

[Marcy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lament. And a call for hope.

This book touches on the several ways that the ”American Dream” has failed many and the ways that our Christian communities have allowed the promises of that dream to supplant mutual care and human thriving that Jesus calls us to. The lament of this book is built upon the human dignity of every person and the many calls from Scripture to the Believer’s duty to care for the orphan, the widow, the poor, the stranger. This call has gone widely unheeded by American Christians. The “least of these” are pushed to the margins while our culture, even many of our Christian communities, chase the American dream of prosperity.

It is a call for Christians to enter into the suffering of our fellow men and women. It is a call to live out our faith in action, not hold it neatly on Sunday morning and pretend that the gospel makes no demands of us to live in sometimes radically sacrificial ways in order to care for our neighbor. That is not an easy message to bring to people who are happy with being comfortable. Even for one who is willing to challenge myself, it pinches, and I have to ask myself what is God asking of me?

The epilogue that discusses “how to live in empire” offers hope, & the idea of subsidiarity: that we work to see, hear, and love the marginalized in our own local communities and treat them with the dignity God created them.

[Caitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Where do I start? This isn’t a comfortable book. This isn’t one you can put down and go along on your merry way. Mayfield likens herself to a prophet, someone who speaks truth, inviting others to something better. In this case, she speaks about the way the “American Dream” plays to some folks while exploiting others.

She speaks about being a white female evangelical in Portland. Of being raised to be a “world changer.” Of wanting to love Jesus SO MUCH and invite others to do the same. And I get it. All of it.

I get not understanding the gap between what Jesus says and what the (generic evangelical American) church says. The past few years have made that gap seem like the Grand Canyon at times.

But what does it look like to acknowledge our complicitness? To you know, repent? To live as a peacemaker? To actively work to build shalom for everyone?

It’s uncomfortable, that’s what. But the world might actually change if we do.

[Kayla Hollatz · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars rounded up. I found this book while strolling through the library and loved its subtitle and the jacket summary. I decided to dive in and wow, is it ever powerful. It's written by D.L. Mayfield, a white Christian who works and lives alongside immigrants and refugees. Instead of taking a "holier than thou" tone, she constantly calls herself out and shares all the reasons why the American dream (and the American church) fails our friends of colors. Only read this book if you're willing to do a deep dive into historical prejudice and systems of oppression and are okay with getting uncomfortable in the most necessary way. The editing in this book could have been better, but otherwise, it was a fantastic read. I want to buy a copy now for my home library.

[Heather Caliri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve long admired DL Mayfield’s prophetic view on American Christianity, and the beautiful nuance of her voice. Still, when the pandemic hit, I wondered if I could handle an honest portrait of our society’s founding myths at a time when our society’s foundations were crumbling under our feet.
Yes, I found things to lament and feel grieved by in this book, but also freedom from the shame that comes from toxic thinking. DL Mayfield doesn’t just critique; she shares the lessons of resilience, community, and joy that undergird the refugee communities she admires. She also shares how she’s learning to set down her own harshness towards herself and others. Many times, I found myself weeping in realization at how I have shamed myself mercilessly—and how God’s Beloved Community offers a way out of bondage for ALL of us.
If you want plain language about reality in a time where our institutions aren’t always speaking the truth, and if you want to know what being part of a better society would look like, this is the book for you.

[Holly Dowell · Rating 5 out of 5]

D.L. Mayfield is a really thoughtful writer, exploring the complexities of a Christian life and how it is ultimately at odds with the values of America (affluence, autonomy, safety, and power). She draws on research as well as her own experience working with refugee populations to explain how we have forgone the call to be good neighbors in favor of protecting or privilege. I was particularly moved by the section on Safety and how demonizing any group of people makes us more likely to listen to our fears when making decisions, even if they are unfounded. I’m grateful for Mayfield’s book, giving me words to explain a lot of the tensions I wrestle with daily.

Thank you to InterVarsity Press for the advanced copy!

[Persis · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author asks hard questions about the American Dream's quest for affluence, autonomy, safety, and power versus the call for Christians to love our neighbors. She doesn't claim to have all the answers but shares where she is in her own journey. I appreciate that honesty and the humility and vulnerability in Mayfield's writing. I have been asking some of the same questions, and this book encourages me to ask more.

[Johanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book The Myth of the American Dream is both a memoir of the experiences of the author and a critique of the American Dream. It describes how the author’s life has been impacted by her immigrant and refugee neighbors while she learns to challenge some of the dominant ideas of white American evangelicalism. I thought the book was strongest when Mayfield described her own experiences. It offered a unique perspective that I could relate to. However, I thought that the analysis in the book was repetitive of other sources. Still, I appreciated that the book included the perspectives of a wide variety of voices, especially women and people of color. I would recommend this book to people as an introduction to the idea of a Christian perspective on challenging the American Dream.