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Borrowed Bibles
"It was during the 1940s in Arkansas when the very young Jim Good first learned from his father’s sermons that drinking Coke was a sin, but drinking Royal Crown was not. He also learned not to lie, to keep the Commandments, to love Jesus, and that God wanted segregation. By the age of twenty, he had moved thirty-one times and attended thirteen schools.
In his compelling memoir, Good shares the heartfelt story of what it was like to grow up with a nomadic teacher father who borrowed Bibles and hymnbooks from churches so he could conduct services on the front porch. With the goal of seeking income and respect, Good’s father moved the family more than once a year—from segregated Arkansas to integrated Washington and Oregon and back to segregated Arkansas, filling his son’s life with continuous culture shock. As he embarked on the challenging path to adulthood, Good began to question everything about God, soon realizing that the only way to find the truth was to become a preacher himself.
Borrowed Bibles is an engaging chronicle of one man’s fascinating, faith-filled journey as he learns to accept life as an unsolvable mystery and discover his true purpose. "
In his compelling memoir, Good shares the heartfelt story of what it was like to grow up with a nomadic teacher father who borrowed Bibles and hymnbooks from churches so he could conduct services on the front porch. With the goal of seeking income and respect, Good’s father moved the family more than once a year—from segregated Arkansas to integrated Washington and Oregon and back to segregated Arkansas, filling his son’s life with continuous culture shock. As he embarked on the challenging path to adulthood, Good began to question everything about God, soon realizing that the only way to find the truth was to become a preacher himself.
Borrowed Bibles is an engaging chronicle of one man’s fascinating, faith-filled journey as he learns to accept life as an unsolvable mystery and discover his true purpose. "
219 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 2, 2012
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August 28, 2015
This book is prefaced with a short poem by the author; an exquisite piece that, almost inadvertently sets the stage for the journey we are about to embark upon through another person’s life.
The ability of this book to engage on several levels took me by surprise. Even though I was hooked from the moment the author (as a little boy growing up in what is actually an all-out odyssey through the rural America of that time) speculates that Hitler just might be that man living in the spooky house up the road; I found myself feeling more and more connected both to the author and to the corner of the world we happen to share, as details unfolded. From snippets of gospel songs, bolognie sandwiches on white bread, 1934 Pierce Arrow sedans, god fearing folks (who only drank RC cola), Vicks salve and backyard chicken coops; there was a familiarity—a witness to our own American culture inventing itself from the debris of those difficult times.
This is that story seen through the eyes of a boy swept and bumped along on the river of those changes, a little boy with existential questions that didn’t quite mesh with the simple answers the people around him provided when they were in the mood for answering questions.
I liked this book a lot and highly recommend it.
Carol S Bean, author Tender Heart of Joy: Tools for Reclaiming Your Full Measure of Delight
The ability of this book to engage on several levels took me by surprise. Even though I was hooked from the moment the author (as a little boy growing up in what is actually an all-out odyssey through the rural America of that time) speculates that Hitler just might be that man living in the spooky house up the road; I found myself feeling more and more connected both to the author and to the corner of the world we happen to share, as details unfolded. From snippets of gospel songs, bolognie sandwiches on white bread, 1934 Pierce Arrow sedans, god fearing folks (who only drank RC cola), Vicks salve and backyard chicken coops; there was a familiarity—a witness to our own American culture inventing itself from the debris of those difficult times.
This is that story seen through the eyes of a boy swept and bumped along on the river of those changes, a little boy with existential questions that didn’t quite mesh with the simple answers the people around him provided when they were in the mood for answering questions.
I liked this book a lot and highly recommend it.
Carol S Bean, author Tender Heart of Joy: Tools for Reclaiming Your Full Measure of Delight
Displaying 1 of 1 review