The Diaries of a Teenage Pilgrim: The Early Journey: A Coming-of-Age Story of How God Called Me to Run After Him

by Lydia Friend, Heidi Malikowski (Editor)

308 pages, Hardcover

Published August 28, 2025

About the author

Lydia Friend is a poet, memoirist, and director of a Bible bookstore in Jerusalem. Born into a family devoted to Christian radio work at the Lebanese border, she grew up between Lebanon, Israel, and the United States — a third-culture childhood that shaped both her faith and her voice. She holds a BA in Theology and studied the Anthropology of Pilgrimage at the University of the Holy Land. Her debut memoir, The Diaries of a Teenage Pilgrim: The Early Journey, was published in 2025 and traces her spiritual awakening from 1994 to 1998. For over thirty years she wrote secretly in the bridal mysticism tradition before she knew what that was. She is currently at work on her second book, which covers her family's years in the borderlands of North Israel and South Lebanon from 1998 to 2000. She lives in Missouri with her husband and two sons.


When thirteen-year-old Lydia's father announces they're leaving their cozy Wisconsin parsonage for Israel in just forty days, her world turns upside down. What follows is an extraordinary pilgrimage that spans continents and decades of reflection, a journey of displacement, identity, and the discovery of divine calling in the most unexpected places.


Written in memoir format and based on personal experiences and diary excerpts, Lydia tells her story of how she went from a reluctant pilgrim running away from the Holy Land to Missouri's Ozarks, to a teenager who dedicated her life to serving the Lord in the Middle East and beyond.


Her story and poetry speak to anyone who has ever felt like a stranger: Third Culture Kids navigating between worlds, ministry families facing cross-cultural moves, men and women wrestling with belonging and purpose, seniors who want to reignite their passion for God, and teens grappling with confusion about identity and purpose.


Lydia takes you on a journey to Jerusalem, living in a Jewish neighborhood, attending an Arab school in East Jerusalem, then moving to the Israeli-Lebanese border. She joins a hockey team, then a speed skating team. Rockets fly overhead while her father works in South Lebanon with Christian radio. As the only believer in Jesus among her friends, she grapples with how to live set apart for God. But as tensions build, she runs away to the Ozarks to live with her Grandma and experience a normal American high school life. During that time, she comes face to face with her dreams and God's dreams. She has a destiny set before her, but will she choose the comfort of American life, or will she return to the Galilean Hills that changed her?


This is the raw testimony of a "Stranger Lovely" learning that belonging comes not from fitting in, but from knowing the One she belongs to. As one who has moved between many places, she discovers a single constant: the mystical presence of God. He opens to her the language of the Song of Songs and reveals that He wants her for a Bride, drawing her into deeper intimacy through poetry and divine love. This is the true story of a teenager who begins her journey and slowly finds the Lover of her soul. This is the early journey. Part two is coming, as the mountains of spices await Lydia's return.



Also available in hardcover (ISBN: 979-8993036120), paperback, and ebook (ISBN: 979-8993036151). Search "The Diaries of a Teenage Pilgrim Lydia Friend" to find all formats.

Reviews

[Leah Thomsen]

Lydia Friend has written more than a memoir with her gorgeous debut book, The Diaries of a Teenage Pilgrim. With this book, she has penned a touching testimony of how she found God amid the struggles of coming of age, transnational migration to the Middle East, and navigating life as a Third Culture Kid.

For me, a Third Culture Kid myself, Friend’s story gripped me from the very first page. This is due, at least in part, to the author’s tender Christlike heart, which becomes apparent as soon as you encounter her poetic musings in the introduction to the book.

This work draws you in because Friend’s narrative style is polished, descriptive, and deeply poetic. She draws you not only into her past, but into her inner world as a teenage girl. She recalls events, moments, and emotions with impressive detail, offering the reflection of a mature woman who has grown into her faith without losing one ounce of self-awareness of the complicated girl she was when this story began to unfold.

As I followed her journey from the United States to Arab East Jerusalem, I felt as though I was sitting by a fireplace, engrossed in a firsthand story retold by a new friend. I couldn’t wait to end my day so I could curl up in bed with this book and pick up where I left off with Lydia.

As for her story, there is no shortage of intrigue to keep any reader captivated. She resists the urge to sensationalize, and she doesn’t need to, because the story is so rich in itself. The diverse cast of characters is well developed and described, and each setting, from country to city to specific place, is richly rendered. Friend is both an excellent record keeper and a gifted storyteller.

Lines like, “In my moment of greatest need, when death seemed certain, divine love had moved through human hands to pull me from the depths,” moved me, speaking not only to her skill as a writer, but to her God-given gift to share her story in a way that puts His love and goodness on display and draws others to Him.

What also stands out is the depth of her theological grounding. This is clearly a book written by a woman who walks closely with God, whose faith is real and shaped by experience. In an era of Christian consumerism, Friend’s creation feels honest, tender, and deeply faithful to the tenets of the faith. The author has a shepherdess heart, and it shines through in lines like, “When we feel like strangers in the very places God has led us, we’re walking in the footsteps of the faithful. Our temporary residences become altars of trust, reminders that we belong to a Kingdom that transcends all earthly borders.”

The author is very well-read, which becomes especially evident in her essay reflections near the end of the book on pilgrimage and divine romance. It is an impressive, thought-provoking conclusion to what is otherwise a highly accessible work. For the academic mind, it reads like a decadent dessert after a hearty main course! You suddenly realize the warm, pastoral storyteller you have been listening to is also a thoughtful scholar.

The Diaries of a Teenage Pilgrim inspired me to remember what God can do in the life of a woman who is submitted to Him.

This book is the perfect read for any Third Culture Kid (or adult), the ideal gift for any teenage girl in your life, and is encouraging for any woman of faith! It’s a rare and remarkable piece showing how God works in a young girl’s heart to draw her close. It is a testimony to the truth that when a girl embarks on a pilgrimage with God, He will use her for His glory and for her good!

[Mike Kimmel]

Beautifully written and expressed

Author Lydia Friend sets the stage for a tour-de-force story in the early pages of “The Diaries of a Teenage Pilgrim.” The book begins with the family meeting at age thirteen in which her father, a devout Christian, reveals his plan to move the family from Wisconsin to Israel. Ironically, in fact, the family was scheduled to make the trip in forty days ... the same time often referenced for life changing journeys in the Bible.

The book is truly remarkable, not only for people of faith, but also as a journey within the mind and heart of a smart, prodigious teenager ... and an honest peek within her day-to-day world as she moves between the U.S. and Israel.

The book works best when the author goes into detail: i.e. her journey to the Holy Land: the near mishap in the airport, settling in the family's new apartment, adopting a stray kitten, learning Hebrew in the intensive Ulpan program, and even her terrifying near-drowning experience in a mountain pool. All of these experiences deepen the young girl's faith.

It would also be valuable, I think, to see a follow- up work from the point of view of Lydia's parents and younger brother (who made the trip with her). Highly recommended.

[Barbara Hawley]

A memoir, a book of poetry, a devotional, a cultural and anthropological essay, a theological study… these are all apt descriptors of this book. Lydia Friend’s account of living in both border towns and the Ozark mountains is interspersed with journal entries and poems (many of which have a psalm-like tone).

The author arranges not only words in a fresh, descriptive way, but also concepts. The truth of God’s redemptive love is cast as a divine romance. The Great Commandment is portrayed as actionable love “with hands and feet and checkbooks.” The anthropological framework of pilgrimage is described in the context of a visceral experience. The sociological concept of Third Culture Kid (TCK) is offered new terms like pilgrimage, liminality, and communitas.

Friend’s spiritual depth is remarkable. She’s preserved the melancholic, somewhat angsty teenage voice from her journals while also infusing it with mature, even scholarly observations. I was very moved by her passion for intimacy with God, and it stirred me to want more of it in my life.

[Jess Crane]

This fascinating memoir follows Lydia's teenage years and spiritual journey as she moves from her tight-knit community in the US to Israel, her birthplace, before returning to the US. Lydia describes her feelings of displacement and isolation through her memories and profound reflections. The book is filled with bible verses, prayers and Lydia's own poems. It touches upon some interesting spiritual concepts, such as visions, speaking in tongues and prophecies.
The memoir explores the clash of togetherness and conflict, which can be seen all over the world among people of different religions, areas and backgrounds. I love how she writes, "We belong to a Kingdom that transcends all earthly borders'.
Lastly, Lydia manages to capture the intense feelings of medical trauma and healing on your own timeline, which I can deeply relate to. Her resilience and faith, despite her life unexpectedly changing course several times, are inspiring.

[Book Reviewer]

I found The Diaries of a Teenage Pilgrim: The Early Journey to be, at heart, a coming-of-age memoir about spiritual identity under pressure. Lydia Friend begins in the warm, enclosed world of Spooner, Wisconsin, then is swept into a family move to Israel that feels at once providential and deeply destabilizing. What follows is not a tidy overseas faith ministry narrative but a long, uneven apprenticeship in exile: Jerusalem and Metulla, homesickness and fervor, poetry and loneliness, the ache of being pulled between the Ozarks and the Galilee, and finally a devastating car accident that becomes a hinge point rather than a climax. The book keeps returning to one question in different forms: what does it mean to belong when every earthly home feels provisional, and when faith asks not for certainty but for surrender?

I liked the book’s emotional candor. Friend has a gift for rendering memory through texture and atmosphere, so that a white cat in an airport carrier, a farewell quilt from a small church, or a frantic run through Atlanta with a harp on her back can carry real emotional voltage instead of merely serving as anecdote. I admired the way she lets adolescent intensity remain intense. She doesn’t flatten her younger self into someone wiser or more ironic than she was. That gives the memoir a rawness I found moving, especially in the sections where she feels caught between two worlds and can’t tell whether she’s being formed or simply undone. The prose has a luminous, devotional quality. It lingers over rain, cedar, songs, hospital fear, and the strange tenderness of being cared for after catastrophe. There were moments when the language tipped toward repetition or overstatement for me, but even then I felt the pressure of a real inner life behind it.

I also found the book’s ideas both compelling and specific. Friend’s central vision of pilgrimage, displacement, and what she calls being “Stranger Lovely” gives the memoir its theological spine. She reads exclusion, longing, and even creative repression as part of a larger divine romance, and whether or not a reader shares every article of that belief, it’s hard not to feel the force of how fully she has lived inside it. I was especially struck by the way the accident and recovery chapters reframe suffering not as abstract lesson material, but as something bodily, terrifying, and humiliating before it becomes meaningful. That sequence gave the book real gravity.

The Diaries of a Teenage Pilgrim is a sincere memoir, and sincerity here is not a small thing. What I valued most was its refusal to separate spiritual formation from embarrassment, adolescence, longing, family history, art, or pain. Friend writes like someone trying to recover her own song while she’s still hearing its echoes, and that gives the book an intimacy I found affecting. I’d recommend it especially to readers who are drawn to faith memoirs, overseas faith ministry childhood narratives, and stories of displacement that are as inward as they are geographical. It will likely speak most powerfully to readers who have felt out of place in the world and have tried to make meaning of that estrangement without denying its cost.

[Jessica Daniels]

The Diaries of a Teenage Pilgrim: The Early Journey is a heartfelt and inspiring coming-of-age memoir that beautifully captures the excitement, uncertainty, and spiritual growth that often define the teenage years. Lydia Friend writes with remarkable honesty and vulnerability, inviting readers into a deeply personal journey of discovering what it means to pursue God wholeheartedly.

One of the book's greatest strengths is its authenticity. Rather than presenting faith as a perfectly straight path, Lydia openly shares the questions, struggles, victories, and moments of transformation that shaped her relationship with God. That transparency makes her story both relatable and encouraging for readers at every stage of their own spiritual journey.

The diary-style storytelling creates an intimate reading experience, allowing readers to witness personal growth as it unfolds naturally. It feels genuine, reflective, and full of hope without ever becoming preachy. The lessons emerge organically through lived experiences, making the message even more impactful.

Beyond its faith-centered themes, the memoir explores identity, purpose, perseverance, and learning to trust God's direction through life's uncertainties. These universal themes make the book appealing not only to young adults but also to parents, mentors, and anyone seeking encouragement in their own walk of faith.

Readers who enjoy Christian memoirs, inspirational nonfiction, devotionals, and coming-of-age stories rooted in authentic faith will find much to appreciate here.

A sincere and uplifting memoir that reminds us that following God's calling is often a journey of continual growth, trust, and transformation.

[Michael Godwin]

The Diaries of a Teenage Pilgrim: The Early Journey is an intimate and compelling coming-of-age memoir that brings readers into Lydia Friend's teenage years as she navigates an extraordinary life between cultures, countries, and expectations. Moving from Wisconsin to Israel at thirteen, Lydia finds herself confronting displacement, identity, loneliness, faith, and the difficult question of where she truly belongs. The diary-based format gives the story an immediacy that makes the emotional journey feel especially personal.

What stands out is the contrast between the extraordinary circumstances surrounding Lydia's adolescence and the very ordinary struggles of growing up. Jerusalem, East Jerusalem, the Israeli-Lebanese border, and the Ozarks become more than settings; they become places where she wrestles with purpose, belonging, relationships, and her developing relationship with God. The inclusion of poetry, prayers, and reflections adds another layer to the memoir, allowing readers to experience not only what happened but also how those experiences shaped Lydia's inner world.

This is particularly suited to readers of Christian memoirs, coming-of-age stories, faith-based nonfiction, and books about cross-cultural identity. It should also resonate with Third Culture Kids, missionary and ministry families, teenagers questioning their identity and purpose, and adults reflecting on their own spiritual journeys. Lydia's story ultimately offers a thoughtful reminder that feeling like a stranger or outsider does not necessarily mean being without a home—it can become part of discovering where faith, calling, and belonging intersect.

[Emmy]

I really enjoyed this.

Yes, there were moments, especially in the first half of the book where the author repeated herself and the same events a few times too many, but in the end did that really take away from my enjoyment of reading it? Not really. So there you go, five stars.

Why? Because even though we don't share an exact denomination and a few of the denomination-specific things the author mentioned are foreign to me (and I would've loved some more explanation on), growing up as a fellow christian in a country where I was often the oddity due to my faith, I found her story so relatable.

It was interesting to get a small glimpse of the way she experienced the combi jewish and muslim culture in israel, and to read of her struggles when getting physically moved about in the world and dealing with 'normal' teenage struggles.

But mostly, I gave this book the rating I did because it was uplifting.
I found myself thinking even more about my relationship to my Saviour this week, thanks to the author's thoughts and ponderings on scripture and how it applies to daily struggles. I found myself wanting to draw even closer to Jesus, feeling His love, and wanting to love the people around me more in the way that He does.

So I'm grateful. Thank you, Lydia Friend, for sharing your story.

[Diane Kurtz]

I did not expect to be this moved. Lydia's journey, from the streets of Jerusalem to an Arab school, to the Israeli-Lebanese border with rockets overhead, to the quiet of her grandmother's home in the Ozarks, reads like nothing I have ever come across before. It is raw, it is honest, and it is deeply personal in a way that makes you feel like you are sitting right beside her through every foreign room and every moment of feeling like an outsider.
What struck me most is how universal her story feels despite how extraordinary her circumstances are. Every person who has ever felt like a stranger somewhere, in a place, in a season of life, even in their own skin, will find something of themselves in these pages. Lydia does not write like someone performing faith. She writes like someone who actually lived it and paid the cost of it.
The poetry woven throughout is beautiful and unexpected. And the way she captures what it feels like to be pursued by something greater than yourself, even when you are running in the opposite direction, is something that will stay with me for a long time.
This is one of those rare books that does not just tell a story. It leaves a mark.

[Jeannie]

Diaries of a Teenage Pilgrim

As I read this, I kept wondering what to say about it.

First, a CW or two: from the title you can probably tell this is highly religiously coded from the Christian POV. Also, instances of antisemitism are mentioned.

The writing is quite good. The author expresses herself well. Her story is a memoir and is incredibly compelling, and I say that as someone who used to be Christian and no longer am.

There’s a lot of bible verses and religious poetry. My favorite parts personally were when she simply wrote of the difficulties of being a displaced teenager and trying to fit in. That’s what kept me reading even when the evangelism overwhelmed the rest.

Readers of religious memoirs might enjoy this.

[Solandra]

There’s something very honest about reading someone’s younger self trying to make sense of a life that keeps changing before they’re ready. It felt more like flipping through personal journals than reading a polished memoir, which I really liked. The moves between cultures and the feeling of not fully belonging anywhere came across in a very real way, especially through teenage eyes. The faith element felt natural and searching rather than preachy. Some parts are slower, but it suits the reflective tone. Overall a sincere and quietly meaningful read, especially if you’ve ever felt between worlds.

[Ethan]

I thought this book was really powerful and emotional. The way Lydia shares her journey felt super real, especially dealing with moving countries, feeling out of place, and trying to figure out who she is and what God wants for her life.

Some parts were honestly pretty intense, like living in different cultures and dealing with everything happening around her, but it made her story even more meaningful. I also liked how her faith develops naturally instead of feeling forced.

Definatly a really inspiring read, especially for anyone who’s ever felt lost or unsure about their path. It made me think alot about purpose and trusting the journey even when it doesnt make sense.

[Sarah Davis]

honestly this one kinda stayed with me after I finished it. Lydia Friend writes in such a raw, diary-like way that it didn’t feel like “reading a book” so much as just being in her head through all the chaos and moving around. the whole feeling of not belonging anywhere hit pretty hard, even if your life looks nothing like hers. I really liked how the faith side felt personal and emotional, not forced or preachy. one small thing is sometimes the poetic parts got a bit dense for me, like I had to slow down more than I wanted. I could really feel what she was going through and it made me think about my own stuff a lot, it just has that quiet impact that sneaks up on you.

[Susie Smith]

Coming of Age Journey

An inspiring true story of Lydia Friend, daughter if a preacher called to missions in the Middle East.

Fascinating read, following Lydia's spiritual journey. I loved her poems. So encouraging as she navigated her walk with God.

Here's a few lines I loved:

"...I was beginning to understand that the God of sacred places could meet me anywhere."

"...a prayer warrior in training, learning to recognize the real enemy and fight the battles that mattered.

Thanks Lydia Friend for strengthing my faith.

[Kathy Nunn]

The Diaries of a Teenage Pilgrim is a lovely recollection of years when a Christian teenager finds herself not only grappling with the difficulties of understanding who she is but also the difficulties of not quite belonging in one world or another. The book is carefully reconstructed from the diaries, including some lovely, spirit-filled poetry. It would suit anyone interested in how religion can play an important role in finding their way in life.

[Benard Chi]

It is refreshing to read inspirational accounts of faith and documented with such clarity and details. Every page is great to read, the journey I would say from rags to blessings is comparable to many we find in the bible, and that is good to notice. When you are called by faith, you cannot deny it, you can only delay it. Love the book.; the chapters seem standalone though, could not tie.

[Alexie Linn]

A profound story

This is a memoir of a perpetual journey that this author has been on. The culture shocks and discrimination prevail. It was an interesting journey to share. I recommend it for trying on anothers shoes and strolling their walk for a minute.

[Kate]

An enjoyable read

This was an enjoyable read. I particularly liked how the author used poetry in the chapters and also interspersed the text with scripture references. It was fascinating reading this coming of age story set in both the USA and Israel. I read it in a weekend.

[Undec]

This memoir's honest and moving. Lydia's diary excerpts and her poetry make it feel so real and personal...you're right there with her. It's inspiring without being over-the-top!