From the Bookshelf of La Crescent Public Library…

[close] Released at a time when our country is so divided politically, ethically, spiritually, and even factually, Dr. Jacqui Lewis's Fierce Love is a personal account and manual for how to heal - heal ourselves and in a larger sense, our global community. As the first African American woman to lead the historic Middle Collegiate Church, known for its vast diversity in race, ethnicities, sexualities, and spiritual practices, she's the perfect person to write about what is possible when we come together with what she calls "fierce love."

The book kicked off strong, calling it like it is: "Let's face it: This nation is an environment in which it is difficult for any of us to learn to love ourselves well." She breaks down how generational trauma and social implicit bias (note* she doesn't use those terms, but discusses them through story) affect us all, noting how we are who we are because of who our parents are and their parents, etc. "I understand that how we are loved is as complicated as the one who loves us." Adding to that is that the framework of "Ubuntu," a Zulu philosophy that believes the world can't get better until all of us heal.

From there, by sharing stories of her own emotional healing and hardships, she expands to show us what's possible as a collective. The later chapters of the book examine critical issues facing us today and how religion and spirituality often get used to divide us, picking apart lines from the Bible to emphasize some things while ignoring others. "I'm always a little startled by the Church's denial about how long Christianity and white nationalism have danced together," Lewis writes.

Ultimately, Fierce Love points out that all of our accomplishments and all our failings tie us together. It's an inspirational and helpful book for anyone trying to fuse back together some semblance of who we are as a country, how to love friends and family we've felt divided from, even how to appreciate a church that, under some leadership, has exiled or turned off many of us. And it's a call to heal ourselves and understand that our ability to see the world for what it truly is and could be depends on how well we see ourselves.

~Jess