Faith and You Volume 1: Essays on Faith in Everyday Life

by Terry Pluto

"Sometimes I wish my minister would read his column instead of the sermon!"

That's the kind of response Plain Dealer columnist Terry Pluto draws from devoted readers of his faith column. Although best known as an award-winning sportswriter, Pluto has also earned a reputation--and a growing audience--for his down-to-earth musings on more spiritual subjects.

This followup to his first collection, "Everyday Faith," offers 28 all-new thoughtful essays on faith in everyday life--practical topics such as choosing a church, lending money to friends, dealing with jerks, sharing your faith, visiting the sick, even planning a funeral.

Perhaps it's because Pluto doesn't claim to have the answers that so many readers are drawn to his writing.

"Real faith writing should be about real life," Pluto says. "I write as much about my failures as my triumphs, because that is what a life of faith is about. It's often as much suffering as celebration, with lots of mundane, everyday stuff in between. I write for people who may have been hurt by someone in church, people who have been discouraged by one who claimed to speak for God . . . I write for people who have found contentment in their faith but want a deeper relationship with God."

Genres: Spirituality

176 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2005

About the author

Terry Pluto is a sports columnist for the Plain Dealer. He has twice been honored by the Associated Press Sports Editors as the nations top sports columnist for medium-sized newspapers. He is a nine-time winner of the Ohio Sports Writer of the Year award and has received more than 50 state and local writing awards. In 2005 he was inducted into the Cleveland Journalism Hall of Fame. He is the author of 23 books, including The Curse of Rocky Colavito (selected by the New York Times as one of the five notable sports books of 1989), and Loose Balls, which was ranked number 13 on Sports Illustrateds list of the top 100 sports books of all time. He was called Perhaps the best American writer of sports books, by the Chicago Tribune in 1997. He lives with his wife, Roberta, in Akron, Ohio."

Reviews

[LeighAnne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once again, I wish I could add half a star to my rating. 3 1/2 is what I'd like to give it. I read this little book on the flight home to my parents' house. I was going back to help my mother and step-father in what were his final days and then stayed a few weeks afterwards to help my mom. The book gave me lots of reminders of what prayer is and should be, I found the Scripture references to be relevant and helpful, and I generally liked the tone of the author. Things that weren't my favorite: it seems like it is a very "local" book, with several references to Cleveland and that area. I appreciate he is from there but it almost seemed like he was only writing the book for people who lived there or knew the area well. Still, it's his book, and maybe he was, so I can't really fault him. The other thing that kept me from giving it 4 stars is a personal reason, having to do with my particular feelings about faith so I won't bother to elaborate here.
Overall, a very good book with chapters I will definitely refer to again. (thanks to my in-laws for the gift.) :)

[Linda George · Rating 5 out of 5]

I regularly read Terry Pluto's Faith column in the Cleveland Plain Dealer and greatly enjoy those essays. In this book, the essays are expanded and cover a number of topics that really hit home. I got this copy for my husband who is not a big reader and he finished it in a week.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always enjoy Pluto's faith columns, and this is no exception. Here's the book blurb I wrote for our church newsletter when this book was Book of the Month in the church library.

Baseball Season! It's after the All-Star Game. You may have read some of Terry Pluto's sports columns in The Plain Dealer or Akron Beacon Journal, and right now Pluto is writing a lot about baseball. However, year-round he also occasionally writes essays on faith. These “28 short essays on faith in everyday life” are written for laymen by a layman, although, as a good reporter does, he often interviews a local clergyperson for insight. Pluto's easy to read style gets right to the heart of the matter; and he often gives us something to think about. Essay titles include “It's ok to enjoy life,” “Do you remember answered prayers?” “Why is it so hard to pray out loud?” and “Consider a Jerk fast.” Now, don't you want to find out what a Jerk fast is?

I enjoyed this book a lot, and recommend it to anyone wanting to read something really down to earth about faith.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy and appreciate Terry Pluto's spiritual essays in the Plain Dealer so I figured I would really like this collection of them (I'm not sure whether they have all been published in the PD pr not.) And I did for the most part. I like Terry's humbleness amd honesty about faith. But *I* have to be honest and say I only read half of the essays. I will probably come back to it later and will definitely keep reading Terry's articles when they come out.

[Ann C. Arnold · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book which is a compilation of newspaper columns by this Cleveland area sports columnist/faith writer.