United States of Grace: A Memoir of Homelessness, Addiction, Incarceration, and Hope

by lenny duncan

"This lyrical testament to life as "a blind date with mercy" will challenge and inspire."--Publishers Weekly [Starred Review]

In 1991, when he was 13 years old, Lenny Duncan stepped out of his house in West Philadelphia, walked to the Greyhound station, and bought a ticket--the start of his great American adventure.

Today Duncan, who inspired and challenged audiences with his breakout first book, Dear Church, brings us a deeply personal story about growing up Black and queer in the U.S. In his characteristically powerful voice he recounts hitchhiking across the country, spending time in solitary confinement, battling for sobriety, and discovering a deep faith, examining pressing issues like poverty, mass incarceration, white supremacy, and LGBTQ inclusion through an intimate portrayal of his life's struggles and joys. United States of Grace is a love story about America, revealing the joy and resilience of those places in this country many call "the margins" but that Lenny Duncan has called home. This book makes the bold claim that God is present with us in the most difficult of circumstances, bringing life out of death.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Autobiography, Biography, Biography Memoir, Queer, Religion

186 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 18, 2021

About the author

lenny duncan (they/them) is a writer, speaker, scholar, and media producer working at the forefront of racial justice in America. lenny is the author of Dear Church, United States of Grace, and Dear Revolutionaries, and a co-creator of the podcast BlackBerryJams with PRX. A PhD student in historical and cultural studies of religion, lenny is currently researching what they call "a people's history of magic." lenny is originally from West Philadelphia, has hitchhiked thousands of miles on American byways, and makes their home up and down the I-5 with their found family, and in the East Bay area of San Francisco for research.

Reviews

[Jenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the book 2021 needs to get back on its feet. This book will re-instill hope in the beautiful tapestry of America's people, something I know I desperately need after losing my faith in the public year after dragging year. Lenny Duncan's memoir takes you to all corners of this country and manages the impossible: holding in tension the overwhelming love one has for the American public and its natural beauty with the hatred and scars of its history, government, and institutions. Beautifully written, Duncan takes us through the decades of his life with raw honesty and emotion that will move even the most stoic of readers.

This is not your sugar-coated, pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps-hidden-agenda, made-to-make-you-feel-good memoir. This is honest and real in the ways so many people shy away from. Especially if you are of faith, you need this. This is not your bullshit 'I'm perfect now because I am a pastor' narrative that (white) evangelicals have been peddling for decades just to make you feel good ol' religious guilt. This is a story of Jesus meeting you where you're at, taking the form of black trans women & cross-country van drivers. This is honest and real in a way that so many religious memoirs on the market today are not. These are the kinds of stories we need to be uplifting, cherishing, and passing on: stories of God claiming & embracing people the world and our church has spurned over and over again. Of God cherishing the troublemakers that do not fit into the white evangelical narrative of a 'good' Christian today, not hundreds or thousands of years in the past.

Duncan did not have to bare his soul for us on the page--God knows we do not deserve it. But I am forever grateful that he did, because it's exactly what so many of us need to hear and read right now. Read it, let it change you, and then get to work.

[Erik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lenny Duncan's United States of Grace is a memoir-cum-advice book that argues for a redefining of those on the "margins," centering them where they belong.

At age 13, Lenny ran away from his home in West Philadelphia to escape his parents (both of whom were alcoholics and addicts) and their abuses. As he spent the 90s hitchhiking across the United States, he came to meet a coterie of characters who would support him, save him, and ensure his survival as a kid on the run. As he grew up, spent time in jail for the crime of selling marijuana, had a baby and girlfriend he abandoned for the better part of a decade, he came face to face with a spiritual awakening that led him into the arms of a God who loved him as a queer, Black, anti-capitalist. And so Rev. Lenny Duncan was (re)born.

Had United States of Grace operated purely as a memoir it would have been a five-star success. But Duncan spends far too much time pontificating about the fairly "woo-woo" elements of his spiritual beliefs. And while the discussions of religion are essential to his story and argument about America, they lack a grounding in his life stories, which are important and moving. Nonetheless, the book is a quick read with an important message: amongst the rubble of a vicious, brutal America lay the souls of people committed to living graciously.

[Jerry Wirtley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must-read book for anyone who claims to be a disciple of Jesus and a lover of God.

I was waiting for this book ever since I read Dear Church. I was ready when this book arrived for me to read. But I wasn't. Lenny pulled back the veil and ushered us into the most intimate parts of his life. Lenny showed us the young abused man who set out on his own, and the father who was reunited with his daughter. He showed us the drug addict and sex worker just trying to make their way in life. He reveals why he loves this country and gives everyone us of us every reason to hate it. We are taken to the heights of being covered by God's grace and to the depths of almost being lynched.

I was not ready for the roller coaster ride that the United States of Grace is. I was not ready to feel the depth of love, and hatred that I felt as I read about Lenny's life. Lenny bore his soul and let us peak into who he is and why.

I saw grace in a way I have never seen as a Lutheran Pastor and saw God in a new and exciting way that will forever change the course of my life.

This book will change your understanding of grace, and help you see just how immense the love of God is. as Lenny said, " I can look back and see that it was God's grace completely unmerited and frankly unwanted entering my life in the way an invading force of mercy often does; it is overwhelming and all-encompassing."

Get this book.

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rev Duncan is a prophet, preaching the Word of God through his experiences. Those who have ears should listen to his words about a liberating God, who excludes no one. I am so thankful for him and his gift of vulnerability; listen up, church!

[Lori Toso · Rating 5 out of 5]

From America’s city streets to the highways and by-ways, Lenny reveals his story so raw and vulnerable that a skeptic of grace might find conversion. In writing that reads like poetry, Lenny draws the reader into his own story while at the same time drawing out the readers’. Laying out these stories alongside each other, Lenny helps us find our way into imaging and becoming the United States of Grace that is still yet a dream for far too many.

[Lisa Kentgen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful memoir. Navigating his own path to healing from tremendous wounds, Duncan points the way for all of us to walk. Grace is a verb, and the world needs every one of us to walk the path to redemption for the planet - whatever our personal beliefs and life stories might be.

[Patty · Rating 4 out of 5]

So looking forward to this book. Duncan’s first book really made me think about my church. I am grateful for his writing.

Finished this amazing story. I have a lot to think about.

[Zorak · Rating 3 out of 5]

first book for black history month, a couple days early :)

this book gets three stars because i’m not entirely sure how to rate it in a way that is fair.

first of all, this is already a little bit different than something i would normally read mostly because this book is published under broadleaf books, which is a christian publisher. lenny duncan makes it known that he is a christian and incorporates his beliefs into his book. which is perfectly fine, just not usually something i would read because i am personally not religious. however, duncan actually addresses a lot of the problems i have with religion- mainly problems that arise with white conservative christians. i read this book because i thought he would have a better perspective on religion as a black queer man and, no shocker, he did. it’s also really important to me to read points of view that don’t align with mine. his story is also just really interesting.
however, the writing gets kind of rambly, repetitive, and overly metaphorical sometimes (he is a pastor after all.) sometimes he loses track of what he was saying. and i think a lot of his personal story is missing, but that’s understandable, considering drugs and drinking and severe trauma. so the writing takes it down a star. but he is just so funny, open, and honest in this book that i think it evens it out. his voice is very clear in this memoir and i wish him the best. three stars.

[Jax Lawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I suppose if my only criticism of a book is that I wish it were longer, that's not a bad thing. There are some really amazing passages of grace in this book -- you can tell Duncan is a preacher. I felt some connection because we were born less than a month apart, got married like a month or two apart, and it sounds like we maybe-probably could've run into each other bumping around raves on the east coast in the late 90's, although it's not likely either one of us would've remembered it. But my life, my childhood, and the choices available to me, were also very different, so I don't pretend to be able to relate to things I don't. This is a hope-filled, grace-filled, deeply personal story weaving the author's life together with our collective American life. Good stuff.

[Alex Zuber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well I didn’t do a great job of being a part of the launch team and putting my advance copy of Lenny Duncan’s United States of Grace to use... Between buying a house and the relentless tide of work lately, I’ve barely felt like I’ve had a chance to breathe, much less read a book. Well today, on my first day of vacation, I read it.

I don’t think it’s an understatement to say this book saved me in the midst of this relentless season.

I really need to rest this week, and as I worked my way slowly through the last beautiful lines of this book, I felt like I unclenched my chest and breathed for the first time in over a year.
I’ve been doing a lot of deconstruction this year. I was raised with a great deal of faith in this nation and this past year has all but ripped that faith away. In the face of our nation’s complete indifference to this pandemic that’s claimed hundreds of thousands of lives here at home, and in light of the massive racial reckoning were facing right now, I feel like everything I’ve ever known about America has been a lie.
And this book pretty much confirmed that the star spangled vision of American exceptionalism I received was indeed a lie.
But #USofGrace somehow helped me find hope again. Lenny is unapologetic about naming the brokenness of America and yet he’s abundant in sharing its beauty. I remember talking to Lenny in January 2020 about this book and was amazed that he was going to write this and was honestly confused. But his ability to find the beauty of this nation and the hope found in the cracks of the facade of the American dream is awe inspiring. This book is nothing short of a revelation of God’s love here and now, and with his prodigious talent Lenny is once again prophet and poet. There is raw beauty and pain in this story that speaks endless truth to the true heart of our homeland—found not in our soulless institutions, but in the vibrancy, love, and joy of our people.
This book has helped me rediscover both my current place and my future in this nation. The pain all around has not been diminished, but I’m better able to see it now through a lens of hope.
If you’re deconstructing the fever dream of American nationalism you were force fed throughout your life, this book is for you. If you’re seeking hope when all else feels hopeless and have lost sight of why you joined the struggle to begin with, this book is for you. If you’re trying to find yourself as you realize after this stormy year that your home was really built on sand, this book is for you. If you’re looking to breathe again when you haven’t even realized you were holding your breath, then this book—and the Holy Spirit that moves through it—is for you.

I’m going to be reading this again over the next few weeks and sharing quotes. This book is beautiful and powerful and I give so much thanks for my friend Lenny, who has given me more than I could ever repay. Thank you friend, for helping me find myself, my breath, and my hope again.

10/10, can’t possibly recommend enough, but find a retailer that doesn’t send money to Jeff Bezos to buy this book.

[Anna Norvele · Rating 5 out of 5]

I often feel disapointed by progressive/liberal/inclusive/whatever Christianity and it's books. Not because I don't believe the premises but because of its lack of sincerity and passion.

This is not that kind of book. It's real and raw and true - an authobiography of black teenage queer sex worker and adict who tells some things about Christ actually worth saying.

[Eric Clapp · Rating 5 out of 5]

If Brennan Manning’s Ragamuffin Gospel and James Baldwin’s No Name in the Street went to Bonnaroo together, Lenny Duncan’s brilliant new book would be the result.

He’s written a powerful testimony of God’s grace in his life while also keeping an eye firmly fixed on the institutions that perpetuate harm and injustice on anyone outside of the centers of power. I read it in one sitting and was blown away.

It’s a wonderful book and you should all get it from wherever you can buy books without paying J*ff B*zos.

[Alisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A unique story that I would have benefited from better editing. Flashes of personal story are the most readable and provide insight that the rambling reflections just don't. *I read an Advanced Copy and the published version may have been better edited.*

[Peter Jarrett-Schell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished "United States of Grace." You should read it too.
Hope's been hard to find of late. When offered, it often feels cheap, naive, and false: more of platitude, or an apology for the status quo, than a vision of something better.
Pastor Lenny Duncan brings the real deal.
He tells his story, his and no one else's, and reads unsparingly all the cruelties, failings, and injustices of this nation. But he also lifts up also moments of startling kindness, courage, and honesty, offered and glimpsed, here and there, through broken, contradictory and compromised folk: folk like you and me.
The book offers a vision of what and who we can still be.
Duncan's committed to speaking all the contradictions: the regressive brutality of our society, and the revolutionary grace that shows up in its people. That commitment leaves almost any pull-quote wanting context; but this section gives you a sense of his determination to tell the whole story, all of it, without exception, and somehow still glimpse grace in the midst of it.
"There is a death pact between our political structures and our economic overlords, and they will take us all with them, with little to no forethought. COVID-19 has simply revealed not only the largely unrealized depths of depravity to which they are willing to go but also the thing that keeps me going most days. The great hope that COVID-19 has revealed in the midst of the charnel house response from a White House-which has never been whiter-is just how vulnerable they are.
That's where God is in the midst of this. That's where the Holy One known as I am resides currently in our country. God is the crack, flaws, and splintering pillars of a system that can't support its own bloated weight. Think about it-we stayed home for two months and the republic almost collapsed.
Community didn't collapse. Mercy didn't collapse."
Read this book. In all the laces you're comfortable, it will afflict you. And where you are afflicted, it will bring comfort

[Gary Schulstad · Rating 5 out of 5]

In his memoir, United States of Grace, Lenny Duncan writes in one chapter about hitchhiking as the last American adventure. This hitchhiking is described in romantic detail but the American adventure he is devouring is more wide-ranging than hitchhiking. He embraces an American love story that threads the events in his life together, and connects with others as well who believe in hope and a promise that fuels our country's aspirations.

His life circumstances and mine are different but I do hear the same siren voices as Lenny Duncan's calling me. He echoes and uses those voices to reveal the overwhelming love packed into this memoir. The holiness of Whitman's and Kerouac's words echo and spill out through this narrative, combined with the ecstatic jubilation conjured up by Allen Ginsburg and Grateful Dead music.

Duncan's first book, Dear Church, is structured like a letter from Paul to the church. Both love for the church and a concern it should aspire to something better are present. His story here addresses a larger audience; namely all the people of the United States who have shown grace when faced with intolerance and evil. He challenges his readers to do no less. In his words he inspire us to become, even briefly, the chaplains to the revolution.

Envisioning the future of the church is inevitably hard. Coming out of a quarantine, like we are at this book's publication date, complicates writing about future visions we may have. United States of Grace centers the work in front of the church in living into the future on neighbors, and on our widest sense of what neighbors are, over our own navel-gazing.

And, to this centering call, a voice within says "yes I said yes I will Yes"

[Allison]

A gripping memoir of what it is like to be on the margins looking in in the United States, as well as within the mainline protestant church. lenny has been an inspiration and a rebel leader that I have been paying attention to for years and years now, particularly in that intersection of a desire for a better world and being a member of the same type of organized religion, and wanting it * desperately * to do MORE. lenny doesn’t shy away from discussing things that they’ve done and experienced that will make the pearl clutchers clutch. This is their memoir and at times it is scary, exciting, rewarding, and devastating. How do you continue to love a country that clearly doesn’t love you back?

This book is from 2021 and I am curious how their response would change now.
My only gripe with this book is that it was only 170 pages. I could have used at least 50 more and dig deep into some more things. If you’re turned off by the religious subgenre, I think you should go in with an open set of eyes because lenny does not shy away from criticising (also check out their first book: Dear Church).

[Dylan McNamee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow - started and finished this in one sitting. Lenny drew me in with immediate storytelling about his amazing arc of a life. His way of relating stories made me think about events and periods of my own life, in a way that felt like a dialog about what it means to be a flawed-and-upward-trending human. I learned about his story from this interview with him on Oregon Public Broadcasting https://www.opb.org/article/2021/06/1..., and am really glad I took the time to track down the book. In these difficult times, he accomplished the difficult task of giving me hope by acknowledging the grace within each of us.

[Alesia · Rating 5 out of 5]

How this became a Christian book, I do not know because this life up turning to God was anything but Christian! On the streets at 13! 13! I just can not imagine that life! This lost little boy was from a broken home of abuse and narcissism! As a domestic violence survivor I pray that my son does not grow up as a stat but has an incredible fulfilling life. All I can to do is put him on the right track one step at a time! Such an incredible story this was. I pray this mans life stays on track for him and his family.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

As with his first book, Duncan cuts right to the heart of the matter in Unite States of Grace. He beautifully weaves his story with the story of systemic racism and oppression in the US and calls upon us all to do better. His challenge is clear, but so too is his love for this nation, for us as individuals, and for God.

[Simon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite "memoir" being right in the title I somehow didn't think it would be so much so... Similar to Kiese Leymon's "Heavy" only less literary and with a theological lens rather than a sociological one. I felt it could have gone deeper into analysis (thinking of other memoirs I've read recently) so I don't know if I will end up holding on to it, but it was certainly worth the reading.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lenny Duncan's new book is a vibrant, life-giving account of starting each day anew. Raw, defiant, and hopeful, "United States of Grace" recounts a life of trying to find one's physical and spiritual home. The book touches on issues of freedom and entrapment, abusive relationships, and the consequences of both isolation and community. Overall, this book tells a hard tale about futures and fates unknown, as the author's tumultuous journey is carried toward Grace by a cast of messengers who say, "Be not afraid." Lenny's caustic humor and daring truthfulness enshrine moments that we, as readers, are lucky to be entrusted with. "United States of Grace" deserves our care and attention; this is a definite must-read memoir of the year.

[Diana Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a minute to get into it…not sure why, but it becomes note powerful as it progresses. By the end, I wanted to stand up and clap. This book is raw, powerful, real, and refreshing. It also made me laugh at times. I’ve took away some excellent thoughts and inspiration.

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely phenomenal account of God's work in the complexity of the United States. Tragic at times, but unapologetically hopefilled throughout. Resonates with the rejected and opens the eyes of the privileged.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unlike a few of the other reviews of this book, I appreciated the commentary on the current state of US politics, prison and religion. I think he has an opportunity to be a strong voice based on his life experience, and I would like to see it used for change.

[Ben McGinnis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this one for a second time. It’s tremendous and tells a story that is both common to some and uncommon to others. Duncan brings his voice forward in telling the details of his life in a beautiful maelstrom. Another A+ for Duncan.

[Morgan Walker Annable · Rating 5 out of 5]

In his memoir, Duncan invites readers to step up closely, cup our hands, and peer into the window of his soul and the soul of America. It is raw. It is honest. It is vulnerable. It is full of grace and love. It is holy ground.

[Heidi price · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read! We all have a story. Life is messy. God is good! We can all extend more grace to each other and SEE people as beloved children of God.

[Karen Rooney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like to read books that give me hope!

[Silvia · Rating 4 out of 5]

At times a bit rambly, but a wonderful perspective on life and faith and the world we wander through.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5