Follow Your Bliss and Other Lies about Calling

by Bonnie J. Miller-McLemore

What does it mean to pursue a calling? According to Bonnie J. Miller-McLemore, it may mean ambiguity, uncertainty, and even suffering--but that's what makes it worthwhile.

The common understanding of calling is often simplistic. You simply need to follow your bliss, or God's will. Miller-McLemore dives into the complex reality of what it means to pursue a calling, challenging the deceptive and destructive idea that a well-lived life is simple, with one perfect career, partner, or summons from God. Instead, she argues, to truly grapple with calling, we must consider how it evolves amid the constraints of life. Callings are often accompanied by loss, regret, failure, impediments, frustration, overload, and conflict, challenges that are an important part of a balanced life.

Grounding her argument in stories from memoirs and biographies, fiction, and the people she has encountered in her thirty years of teaching and research, Miller-McLemore guides the reader through six dilemmas one may face throughout life, from missed or conflicted callings to unexpected or relinquished passions. Each chapter explores the pain and hardships around these complicated experiences and the enhanced insight and vitality that arises from enduring them.

Intertwining faith, philosophy, and pragmatism, Miller-McLemore engages unflinchingly with the ways we find purpose in our lives, and how we make meaning of the search for a calling, no matter how rough the road it leads us down.

222 pages, Hardcover

Published July 30, 2024

About the author

Author, co-author, and editor of over sixteen books as well as over a hundred chapters and articles, Miller-McLemore has a particular interest in the person and lived theology in the midst of everyday struggles, such as illness, dying, working, and parenting. Her writing has been translated into several languages, including Korean, Portuguese, and Swedish.

A nationally and internationally recognized leader in pastoral and practical theologies and in women and childhood studies, she has served as president of the International Academy of Practical Theology, president of the Association of Practical Theology, and co-chair of two newly founded program units of the American Academy of Religion, the Consultation on Childhood Studies and Religion and the Group on Practical Theology.

Reviews

[Bethany Gerdin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for a “pop up” book club where I work. I loved the author’s writing style, it was well-researched and organized, and it was a really comprehensive look at vocation and calling. Definitely worth a read!

[Kelly Brill · Rating 4 out of 5]

In her compelling and accessible new book, Follow Your Bliss (and Other Lies about Calling), Bonnie Miller-McLemore explores the concept of “calling” from a wide range of angles and perspectives. She dives into questions like, “What happens to people - and to the world - when callings are thwarted?” The book acknowledges the privilege that often accompanies the word “calling” - the element of choice it implies, not available to all.

How do we live well with conflicted callings? We are partners and parents, we are teachers and writers, we are pastors and preachers and administrators…Miller-McLemore suggests a change in philosophy and attitude more than skillful juggling and balancing - and she addresses the larger societal issues as well.

Miller-McLemore carefully selects language to capture nuanced experiences: fractured callings, unexpected callings, relinquished callings, among others.

Throughout the book, she weaves in personal experience, stories from her own life and others, examples from literature and history.

This would be a great book for a clergy group to read together - I recommend it to anyone who wants to think more deeply about their life’s meaning, at any stage.

[Cynthia Wells · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's about time we had a book that thoughtfully considered the "double-edged" reality of Christian calling. Miller-McLemore's argument is cogent and clear, and the narratives she draws upon - both her own and others - to illustrate her points are genuine and powerful. She reflects back on how difficult it was for her to move this book forward, and all I can say is...I am incredibly grateful that she pushed through.

[Amy Ziettlow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully written, personal and insightful.