Field Notes for the Wilderness: Practices for an Evolving Faith by Sarah Bessey

Field Notes for the Wilderness: Practices for an Evolving Faith Reviews

• 
  Richard Propes

  I was only a few pages into Sarah Bessey's "Field Notes for the Wilderness: Practices for an Evolving Faith" when I shed my first tear.
  
  It wouldn't be my last.
  
  In fact, I cried often throughout "Field Notes for the Wilderness," the latest book from the popular Christian author and blogger who is also co-founder of the Evolving Faith conference and podcast.
  
  I first became familiar with Bessey via social media, her warm yet direct spirit appealing to me and my few encounters with her affirming my sense that she's what my Kentucky relatives would call "good people."
  
  I must confess, however, that my tears while reading "Field Notes for the Wilderness" weren't always entirely because of a response to the direct subject. Instead, this "wilderness" that Bessey writes of feels very connected to the last few years of my life as I've lost a limb, experienced bladder cancer (and lost the bladder), experienced prostate cancer (and lost the prostate), acquired a new urostomy, lost my brother, lost my brother, and lost my best friend all within the past four years.
  
  I have, quite honestly, felt very disconnected and very much like I'm wandering.
  
  Into this wandering, I began encountering different writers - some Christian, some not. These included Bessey, Nadia Bolz-Weber, the late Rachel Held Evans, Beth Allison Barr, and even Miroslav Volf (whom I affectionately call my favorite theologian).
  
  "Field Notes for the Wilderness" essentially plops us down in the midst of our deconstruction of faith, really an evolving of faith (evolving being a term I find more inclusive and accurate in my case), and nurtures our faith, our curiosity, and our desire to live into our beliefs that haven't always had space in organized religion.
  
  Bessey writes about practicing wonder and curiosity as spiritual disciplines, mothering ourselves with compassion and empathy, making space for lament (I cried a lot here) and righteous rage (I probably should have been angry here, but I cried some more), finding good (and in my case healthy) spiritual teachers, and moving toward what we are "for" in this life.
  
  Bessey isn't a prescriptive author. She certainly writes what has worked for her, however, her writing presents itself as more companion and mentor than anything else. She's the kind of author you want to run into at a conference (sadly, I never have) and she strikes me as a safe space for one to confess that ever-evolving faith (and we sure need those safe spaces).
  
  By the end of "Field Notes for the Wilderness," I felt heard. I felt seen. I felt nurtured. I felt fed. There is one line, the very last line (at least in my ARC Galley of her book) of chapter 16 that still leaves me in tears every single time I think about it.
  
  Available with a companion guided journal (and I strongly recommend reading the book first), "Field Notes for the Wilderness" feels like that unexpected creek you find when you're wandering in the wilderness.
  
  "Field Notes for the Wilderness" is Bessey at her very best, a coach and mentor and friend for an evolving faith offering presence, nurture, coaching, mentoring, a few gentle nudges, and a whole lot of love.
• 
  Erin

  This book feels like warmth and welcome and goodness - like being wrapped up in a quilt fresh from the dryer and layered cozy socks on a cold evening. I don’t think I’ve ever read anything that made me feel as seen and known and beloved as this book made me feel. It gave me hope and made me cry.
  
  You know that verse in Psalm 84 that talks about people journeying through the Valley of Weeping, their tears transforming the landscape into a place of springs (the implication being that those who follow after will then find sustenance along their own way)? This book is that.
  
  It’s a sweet, honest collection of letters to spiritual wrestlers, wanderers, and path-finders, written from the heart of someone walking ahead who has dug a deep well. What a healing, refreshing read this was. I cannot recommend it enough.
• 
  Graydon Jones

  Sarah Bessey has accomplished exactly what she set out to do! This is a beautiful companion to anyone in the Spiritual wilderness - the place where your faith is evolving or you’ve felt like you don’t belong. This book is a unique guide; she does not offer a step by step process to deconstruction. Rather, she attests to her own evolving faith and invites the reader to discern and embody the practices that have guided her. Re-imagine the wilderness, go slowly, see it all as sacramental, find good teachers and companions, reclaim what’s been twisted, tell the truth, know that the wilderness does not negate belonging, and you cannot escape Gods love: these are just a few of the rich and hopeful words Bessey offers.
  
  Thanks to NetGalley and Convergent Books for the ARC!
• 
  My_Strange_Reading

  I began my own deconstruction when my Mom passed away and I watched my church not know how to love or help someone my age going through grief like that. I had many friends who showed me the love of God through that season, but I was definitely hurt by the church during this time. Fast forward to 2020, and I watched that same church laugh at mask mandates and continue to meet, I watched my former pastor talk about how the children in cages at the border were being saved and would be great missionaries one day, and I was just enraged. Now, I watch as pastors who are supposed to speak truth and love, continue to support and praise a genocide of people all because they believe a nation must exist for Jesus to come home.
  
  Living internationally now, I look at the ‘church’ in America and it breaks my heart and disgusts me most days. It’s hard to imagine ever wanting to step foot back inside, but this book…man. Sarah Bessey so tenderly and lovingly brings us back to the central purpose of our lives and points out so perfectly and poignantly to us that our faith is ever evolving and that the ‘church’ doesn’t have to be the answer, but Jesus still is.
  
  It was just what my heart needed this season. If you have ever been or are currently on the path of deconstruction or faith evolution, I highly encourage you to read it. It is amazing ♥️
• 
  Amy Living Well Read

  Love, love, love, love, love, love, LOVE.
  
  I would say that this book is a case of reading exactly what I needed at the right time. And that would certainly be true, yet somehow it seems that whenever and whatever I read of Bessey’s work feels as if it was meant for that moment. So I think the truth is simply that Sarah Bessey has a gift with words. My mother introduced me to @sarahbessey’s writing before my daughter was born, (more than thirteen years ago!) and I never fail to be moved by her ability to speak truth in the most gracious, compassionate way.
  
  As someone who has been battered and beaten by a church family I loved and have seen the best and worst of Christianity and the Church during my almost forty-two years, I found this book to be healing and restorative in ways that I didn’t know still needed a balm. In the last handful of years I have found myself to be sort of a misfit in spiritual circles—too progressive for some, too conservative for others. Too charismatic in this setting but too liturgical in another. My faith has changed and grown over the last six years, and it’s not been an easy journey. I am simply so thankful for the gift that Sarah Bessey offers all of us with this book.
  
  Even if you don’t necessarily see yourself in a place of spiritual disentangling or deconstruction, I highly recommend you read this book. There is so much truth to be gleaned for every believer. And if you do find yourself in the midst of a spiritual journey, please, please, please read this book. I loved it. I am refusing to quote a single word from it because I want you to read it for yourself. I will say that I wept, and I mean WEPT with tears pouring down my face, reading Sarah’s benediction for her readers at the end of the book. I read it again today thinking I could casually look through it for a quote, and nope…full-fledged tears again. It is a beautiful, beautiful book. I intentionally placed this cozy blanket up against the book because every single chapter felt like a comforting hug from God to me. This book is not just a “feel good” sort of book—there are some challenging truths, but Sarah’s words are gentle and kind.
  
  I want for everyone to read this book and then come talk to me about it. ❤️
  
  Thank you so much for this gifted copy, Convergent Books, in exchange for my honest review.
• 
  Sarah Blase

  I feel held by these words.
  
  “It isn’t only sad and tragic things that are real: redemption is real, renewal is real, joy is still real. Kisses in the kitchen and underlined poems and herons gliding low over the water are real. Nurses who stand vigil at bedsides and teachers who read stories abound and sanitation workers who dress up as superheroes to collect trash so that kids stuck inside sick have something to look forward to while the days pass, all real. Eucharist and old hymns, iron-gray skies and hearing the words “I love you still” are real, too. A Savior who sits in our sorrow, lentil soup simmering on the stove, forgiveness, all real.”
• 
  Allison

  I think that Sarah Bessey wrote a book with a lot of important truths in it. However, nothing in it captured me and left me awestruck, which isn't entirely necessary, but it's also nice to find revelations that increase my understanding when reading someone else's interpretations of our God and His scriptures. I'm not sure that I'm in the right space for this book to be as impactful as it has the potential to be and that's okay. I would recommend other books before this one, but if you're starting to question God or going through some deconstruction of your faith this will hopefully provide some guidance and wisdom for you!
• 
  Jordan

  This is such a beautiful book, and an essential read for me. She spoke to my experience and the experience of so many friends. Looking forward to discussing this, I think that will make it even better.
• 
  Lara Searcy

  I decided to read this more like a devotional— reading one chapter every Sunday (for 17 weeks/chapters). I loved how the author started each chapter as a letter— the tone felt very caring, reflective, vulnerable, and conversational.
  
  Field Notes is one of the most eloquent and encouraging —with moments of necessary disruption— spiritual books I have read in a long time. It will be a forever favorite for me as a guide book of how true faith (not religion) should look and feel. If you’re “lost,” these letters will help you find a way forward and toward a deeper understanding of how faith should evolve WITH us.
• 
  Ruthann Daniel

  Maybe I wasn't the right audience. I loved and agreed with every single thing Sarah Bessey wrote in this, but I was waiting for just...a bit *more.* I think this could be SUCH a helpful book to someone who's new to exploring faith shifts and needs a starting point. Maybe it's because I've been reading about faith deconstruction for a few years now and have read similar books from all her contemporaries (Rachel Held Evans, Strahan Coleman, etc), but I didn't really feel like any point was groundbreaking.
• 
  McKenna Best

  If Sarah Bessey has a million fans, I am one of them. If she has ten fans, I am one of them. If she has one fan, it is me. If she has zero fans, I have passed peacefully in my sleep.
  
  BUT REALLY her honesty, beautiful way with words, and profound wisdom has been healing and formative for me. Highly recommend if you’ve ever wrestled with your beliefs (haven’t we all), and have ever felt like you’re living in the lonely wilderness of your faith.
• 
  Kyra Leseberg (Roots & Reads)

  Review to follow
• 
  Lori

  I can’t say enough good things about Bessey’s latest book. She has a captivating and humorous writing style that makes you feel like you are sitting down with a close friend. Her words brought me comfort and encouragement. If you feel like you are lost in the wilderness after leaving your church home or faith community, definitely read this one. I wish I had bought the book instead of borrowed from the library. I know it would have been highlighted to death.
• 
  Camden Morgante

  There is no more gentle and wise guide through the wilderness of an evolving faith than Sarah Bessey. I've read a lot of deconstruction books lately, and many of them are steeped in anger and judgment and written by authors fresh from their own religious trauma and deconstruction experiences. Anger is a valid reaction, but it's not what I crave when I look for a teacher and guide through the lonely and disorienting journey of deconstruction.
  
  Instead, Sarah provides the voice of an experienced teacher, decades after her own deconstruction. She tenderly takes our hand and presses into them the tools and practices that have aided her through the wilderness. Chapters focused on concepts like accepting change, cultivating hope and joy, lament and repentance, belonging, and peacemaking. I especially loved the advice to "nurture your own belonging", since belonging is the very thing most of us lost when we deconstructed from our former religious communities. I also loved her advice to "remember to be for, not just against", so that we are not just running away from toxic beliefs, but also running towards truth, love, and goodness in the wilderness.
  
  Some critics of deconstruction question the validity of the faith of the person in the wilderness. But, as Sarah says, deconstruction really can lead to "a reconstruction of belief, resulting in a stronger, more robust, honest faith." Conservatives will disagree about some of Sarah's beliefs and positions, but when she talks about prayer and belief and blessing and grief--my goodness, her love for Jesus and for his people are just so evident in her tone and in her words. I felt the peace and presence of God through this book more than any apologetics or theology book.
  
  I will press this book into the hands of my friends and clients who are going through deconstruction, to know they are not alone. As we "look for good teachers" on deconstruction, we will find none better than Sarah Bessey.
  
  I received an early copy through NetGalley.
• 
  Brianne Gayfer

  Sarah Bessey says this book is about “practices for an evolving faith” - and it is - but for me, even more importantly, it is also a series of love letters to all of us who have been hurt and broken by the church that we keep trying to love. I read only a chapter or 2 at a time, savouring this book and I cried often as I read it, because it felt like Sarah was speaking to my soul. So, yes, read this if you are ready to move forward, bravely, into the wilderness. But also read it if you still just need to sit by a tree with your blanket in the wilderness hoping someday maybe you will be able to get up again. I’m still the second one and I’ll be buying this book when it comes out to reread for that me but also with hope that someday I’ll be the me who is ready to move forward, bravely.
  
  Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC!
• 
  Analie

  Bessey sets the table for those who are walking wounded by the church and deconstructing their faith. I admired her beautiful prose and the way she brought light to the pain and confusion many feel about how little the church is like Jesus when it comes to issues like sexual abuse. Honestly, reading her book felt like being handed a blanket and hot cocoa after a week of rainy days and hearing the words “I’m in this with you.” I’m not sure I align with all Bessey’s conclusions, but I did enjoy her book as a form of memoir.
• 
  Christine

  Sarah Bessey does it again! I wish I’d had it 10 years ago, and I’m so glad I have it now. Like a hug, full of hope and curiosity - just beautiful.
• 
  Emily Worth

  Crying, sobbing, throwing up. Sarah is such a mother hen and I just want her to give me a hug. This book met me exactly where I am at and held me with such tenderness.
• 
  Mark Johnson

  Sarah Bessey has been a traveling companion for me for a very long time. She is a beautiful writer and perhaps an even better human being.
  
  And I’m not sure she’s ever written anything better than this book. At least not for me at this exact moment.
• 
  Traci Rhoades

  Sarah is a bit further on the progressive path than I am, if one is into labeling such things. I still find my home in the churches I've known, but the view is ever-expanding, and here's why I loved this latest offering of hers - she gave me permission to lose my grip a little. To fly away and see where I'll land. She leaves a big open splace for those of us who wander, even when we don't quite agree. I still see the image of Christ, and his witness, in her. I'm grateful.
• 
  Amy

  4.5 ⭐'s Right book at the right time.
• 
  J.L. Neyhart

  Y’all. Where to start!?
  
  If you know me at all you know that I have been going to the Evolving Faith Conference since the first one back in 2018. You already know that I love Sarah Bessey and her books and all of her writing. You might have heard me say that RHE, Sarah Bessey, and Nadia Bolz-Webber and their writings and sermons and podcasts helped me so much when I was really struggling “in the wilderness” of my own HUGE EXISTENTIAL SPIRITUAL FAITH CRISIS / DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL/ DECONSTRUCTION… whatever words you want to use to describe it. Those 3 women in particular helped me figure out how I could hold onto Jesus when so much of my theology and all of my certainty had “crumbled like sand ‘neath the waves” (yes that’s a Bible & Jennifer Knapp lyric reference.)
  
  I finished listening to the audiobook while driving home from work today. (It is read by Sarah and I highly recommend it!) a word of caution though: if you are often moved to tears by beautiful, healing words of encouragement, blessings, and her benedictions, you probably shouldn’t be driving while listening to those parts! I had a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes so many times as I listened.
  
  A few quotes from her benediction/blessing at the end of the book:
  
  “So here, take this with you for the journey along with my love and hope. Sometimes when we don’t know what we think about anything, it’s nice to just rest in someone else’s faith for a while anyway, especially when we feel a bit out of sorts. Open your hands and receive whatever lands. Everywhere we are is already held in the love of God, even in those times when the night gathers and you are on your own.” (217)
  
  “First, I pray for you to know, to believe, to make your home within the love of God. May you be stubbornly convinced of your own value and belovedness. May you know that you aren’t a problem to be solved, you never were.” (217)
  
  “Receive the patience and kindness of the Spirit, offer it freely to everyone, including yourself. May that gentleness deliver you to an unforced rhythm of grace that reawakens you, recovers you, and restores you. May you receive losing your religion like the gift it will be to you in the end.” (218)
  
  “May all of the meaning you find and create bring you comfort and peace.”(219)
  
  
  I have more to say but you should really just go read her book!
• 
  Richard Propes

  Christian author/blogger Sarah Bessey, also co-founder of the Evolving Faith podcast and conference, has always felt like a literary safe space for the wounded, the curious, the lost, and the miraculously hopeful. Serving as a companion to her latest book "Field Notes for the Wilderness," this guided journal finds Bessey serving as a spiritual guide, mentor, and coach as we work through practical activities, questions, and challenges following the same framework as her book and following the same themes as Evolving Faith and everything we've come to know and love about Bessey.
  
  Bessey guides us through, among other things:
  
  • practicing wonder and curiosity as spiritual disciplines
  • learning to mother yourself with empathy
  • making space for lament and righteous rage
  • finding good spiritual teachers
  
  There's no question that everything here is ideally suited for conferences, retreats, trainings, and/or simply personal exploration. While I reviewed an electronic ARC Galley of the journal, it wasn't long before I realized this would be a guided journal I would need in my hands once I'm able to obtain it. This is a guided journal that needs to be lived into and truly practiced. There were so many times I found myself deep in reflection, wanting to write, and needing to explore these amazing ideas and practices. I find myself anxious to revisit this journal so that I can immerse myself in these guided practices and really apply them more fully.
  
  While it is likely true that most who obtain this journal will have read "Field Notes for the Wilderness," it's worth pointing out that this truly is a companion journal that would have difficulty standing alone. I at times found myself wishing this journal offered a stronger narrative so that it could, in fact, be a stand-alone experience. However, this is a modest quibble for a guided journal that captivated me from beginning to end.
  
  If your faith is evolving, deconstructing, or reconstructing, "Field Notes for the Wilderness" will serve as a welcome companion and literary friend.
• 
  Lindsay

  Field Notes for the Wilderness is a courageously hopeful collection of practices set to encourage Christians in their faith. Written specifically to those who feel like they are wandering in the wilderness, disconnected from community and are in the process of deconstructing their faith, Sarah shares from her own experience and the principles she's gently put into practice to find inner healing as well as build spiritual community.
  
  As someone who has recently left the Church and is wrestling with their faith, I find Sarah's writing to be like a beacon of hope and a helpful reminder that although entering and living in the wilderness is painful and grief filled, it doesn't have to always be that way. Sarah oh so kindly reminds us wanderers that there is a great invitation for us to find healing, belonging and to learn how to faithfully orient ourselves toward Love. While not a step-by-step guide book, the principles shared are important foundational values for the faith journey and prepare the way for the accompanying journal mentioned in the book.
  
  As always, Sarah writes in such a relatable way, and reading Field Notes is like receiving a hug from a trusted friend at the time you need it most.
  
  Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy.
  
  ---------------
  (original thoughts)
  I just consumed this ARC in one sitting. So much of the book rang true for me in this part of my faith journey. I will need more time to process and reflect on Sarah's writing, but for now I will say that each page is filled with such courageous hope. It is mentioned several times that there will be a companion journal with spiritual practices for the reader. That, in combination with this will be such a beautiful and helpful pairing. I can't wait to see it!
  
  Thank you Netgalley for the advanced copy.
• 
  Rachael

  Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC. This is simply an astounding book written with beauty, clarity and hope. Sarah is among the best writers of faith memoirs of the generation and this book is no exception. Her words are more beautiful and more hopeful than I knew I needed and I will be buying the hard copy so that I can read and re-read.
• 
  Mindy Christianson

  I'm not exaggerating when I say I will be buying this book for every friend who has struggled with the church. Bessey is able to articulate the pain and struggle as well as the hope for better, and in my opinion no one else compares.
• 
  Nicole VanderDoes

  I discovered Sarah Bessey through A Rhythm of Prayer and had no idea she was among the many former evangelicals who, thankfully, chose an evolving faith. Without being a full-on memoir, Bessey weaves her own story into notes of encouragement (bolstered by theology, philosophy, and psychology) for those maybe a little earlier on their journeys of evolving faith.
  
  I laughed out loud reading, “Sometimes one of the greatest gifts God gives to us is losing our religion,” because there is such truth to that. I became a Christian as an adult, so mine has always been an evolving faith, finding my way from nothing to something, instead of painfully realizing what must be left behind to make room for that something. I have witnessed the struggles of friends who believed what their families believed for generations and what their churches taught without ever even thinking to question it—until they had no choice but to question it and then felt utterly lost, and often rejected as well. Field Notes feels intended to assure people they are not alone and the journey is worth it. (It is! it is!)
  
  Because my journey has been so different, there were times when I was acutely aware I am not the intended audience. Nevertheless, Bessey’s words have a universal ring, because we will all find ourselves in the wilderness. Beyond the wilderness of an evolving faith, there are the wildernesses of grief, trauma, broken or strained relationships, unfulfilled dreams, health challenges, times of transition, national crisis, and so much more. Whatever the context, Bessey’s realization remains true, “The wilderness wasn’t something for me to fear: God was already here, making a way.” Field Notes for the Wilderness is a loving reminder others have walked this hard path, there are companions along the way, and God is always with you.
  
  Although I thoroughly enjoyed the book, as I read, I kept feeling something was missing even though I couldn’t quite articulate what that was. When I learned later there is a guided journal available to accompany the book, I realized that is what had been missing! Despite the concept of being a “field guide” and Bessey’s promise of sharing the practices that served her in the wilderness, she only mentions practices from her life tangentially or in broad terms, and doesn’t discuss any in great detail. I initially thought this was because Bessey was trying too hard to avoid being prescriptive, but then realized that content might be in the guided journal. I also realized she might be hesitating to offer specifics to avoid claiming expertise. Her only strong suggestion is to “find a companion—a qualified companion—like a therapist or spiritual director to walk this path with you.” As a spiritual director who has a therapist and is grateful all of my clients also have therapists, I’m on board with this suggestion! So, if you are in the midst of the wilderness of evolving (or falling apart) faith right now, I’d encourage you to check out the guided journal. And maybe look into spiritual direction, too. But the book absolutely stands on its own, and can be an encouragement wherever you are on your journey.
  
  Thank you to the author, Sarah Bessey, publisher, Convergent, and NetGalley for the privilege of reading a DRC of this book. All opinions are my own. I also pre-ordered a hard copy to arrive on publication day!
• 
  Shannon Whitehead

  Although I've long aimed to read authors I disagree with, Sarah Bessey is a good example of someone I would've written off as a heretic just a few years ago without even examining what she actually believes. Thank God for growth.
  
  With that growth and curiosity has come an element of fear and grief for me. Anyone who can relate would likely find FIELD NOTES FOR THE WILDERNESS as helpful and transformative as I did. As I mentioned in a previous book review, I haven't gone through a "deconstruction" process (at least not yet), and I haven't left the Church; I've merely let my intellectual and spiritual curiosity compel me to ask bigger questions and seek good answers.
  
  But this book is a blessing and the foremost guide for those deconstructing, reconstructing, or reconsidering their Christian faith. FIELD NOTES FOR THE WILDERNESS isn't a book of answers, though—it's a book that offers comfort, hope, belonging, acceptance, exhortation, and encouragement. It's filled with gentle nudges to be gentle with ourselves, invitations to consider what we're for now and not just what we're against, affirmations that the loving and sovereign God is with us on the journey, encouragement that faith evolutions are healthy and normal, and wisdom Bessey has gathered through her own experiences "wandering in the wilderness."
  
  I got from this book what I thought I would get from her book OUT OF SORTS, which turned out to be more of a memoir. FIELD NOTES FOR THE WILDNERNESS is a guide, and exactly the type I needed at this time in my life. It's written with such clarity and grace. I'd recommend this to anyone who has ever struggled with the Church or wrestled with faith and anyone who'd like to understand the pain and predicament of those who have.
  
  *This review is based on a digital ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley.
  
  "Sometimes one of the greatest gifts God gives to us is losing our religion. We have to be committed to unlearning the unhelpful, broken, false, or incomplete things if we want to have space to relearn the goodness, joy, and embrace of God."