A Beautiful Disaster: Finding Hope in the Midst of Brokenness

A Beautiful Disaster: Finding Hope in the Midst of Brokenness is special to me because it was written by a friend. But I have found it to be special for more than that. This book is a treasure field, chock-full of wisdom. I read it slowly, savoring and pondering its truths. I am sure that others will find it as life-giving as I did.Marlena writes about the desert wilderness of the spiritual life. Dorothy Greco rightly refers to Marlena as a "wilderness guide", one who has spent time learning the lessons of the desert and now leads others through their own spiritual deserts.In A Beautiful Disaster Marlena writes powerfully about her dysfunctional childhood. "I lived in a world of turmoil.... I needed God to show me his path through the desert wilderness of poverty, DUIs, adultery, mental illness, prison, a house fire, the death of loved ones, and my own bad decisions." Marlena found God in the wilderness of her childhood and learned lessons there that served her well as she grew. In her adult life, she encountered more wilderness experiences. Yet instead of despairing in these deserts, Marlena found God there. She discovers that "desert land is fertile ground for spiritual activity, transformation, and renewal."Rather than being preachy or platitudinous, as many writers tend to be when discussing suffering, Marlena's tone is consistently gracious and humble. The book is brimming with wisdom, intertwined with stories, Scripture and quotes. The result is a thoughtful, serious, and beautiful guide.After just one reading, my copy of A Beautiful Disaster is marked up with notes and scribbles throughout. Each chapter seemed better than the last. I will certainly be revisiting this book many times in the future and will be giving copies away as well. Out of all the books I've read on trials and suffering, this will definitely be the one that I recommend to others.Finally, it seems impossible that I write any endorsement of A Beautiful Disaster without also endorsing its author. As I said before, Marlena is a friend and a mentor. I can attest that Marlena's life matches her message. She is sincere in her pursuit of Jesus and is constantly encouraging others towards him. Marlena reflects Jesus in her writing as well as in her life.*Originally posted at www.calliegloriosomays.com

Marlena Graves' book is theology wrapped in a memoir. Her personal anecdotes are not used merely to illustrate theological lessons or questions. Rather, her narrative is as much the point as the lessons and questions are. However, where the anecdotes are illustrative, they are pointedly illustrative.There's much to praise in the book. Too often, stories like Marlena's are understood but are then moralized so quickly that the narrative -- and, perhaps most importantly, the person whose narrative it is -- are lost in quick generalizations. (I say this as an ethicist in the Analytic philosophical tradition, where I'm all too happy to abstract a point from a thought experiment.) In my view, such an abstraction would be less worthwhile with this book, as it seems to seek not to give simple theological lessons for those who are down on their spiritual luck (in fact, Graves is extremely cautious to distance herself from quick fixes to theological problems, such as the problem of evil), but rather to let a song of desperation be heard.In singing that song, Graves, while obviously erudite, does not come off as a theologian here to heal our wounds with quick patches for our ills, but rather as someone who struggles, someone who shares the disease of theological lostness. In that, she meets her intended audience where they are. Better still, Graves is in fact a trained theologian, and it's all the better that her training does not fully repair her wrestling with God and with life. She does not appear to 'have it all together', but it's doubtful many truly honest spiritual persons do.Marlena Graves, like the Christ she represents and adores, dwells among us. As her wilderness song is found in harmony with our own, we know we are not alone, and that is something. Maybe everything.

I cannot adequately express my gratitude for Marlena's willingness to share her own experiences as the context for a larger topic: Where is God when all seems to be lost or hopeless? While this book is highly personal, Marlena shares of herself in order to remind all of us that we are not forgotten by God. This book is a faithful dialogue partner with Scripture, our desert fathers and mothers and many other trusted voices through the Church's long history. We live in a day and age where our sense of well being is shaped by consumerism and a heavy aversion to suffering. All too often, that creeps its way into our ideas of God and personal well being.Mixing a healthy balance of theology, spiritual formation and personal experience, Marlena reminds us all that although the problem of evil and the question of suffering is one that is still problematic, we can take heart that we are not forgotten. God is indeed a good Father who is interested in the every day details of our lives, (even when we think otherwise). We read this book for our summer book club here in Salt Lake City, UT and one person in our group, whose life has had its own share of desert experiences joyfully exclaimed: "I feel like Marlena is writing my story," another commented, "This book is touching on some very sensitive parts of my own life, I'm a mess." There is something about sharing one's life that allows for connection points with larger ideas. This book does that. Marlena's voice is pastoral, there is a real sense of care that one picks up on as she addresses the challenges of the wilderness and embracing the joy of becoming a new creation. I cannot recommend it enough.