Crossing Myself: A Story of Spiritual Rebirth [Paperback]

Greg Garrett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 2006

Greg Garrett journeyed through intense depression and even a suicide attempt into the grace that brought him a life of service to others.

This spiritual autobiography can be appreciated by men, women, or teens in its literary style and personal insights of redemptive faith.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

“God writes straight with crooked lines.” This old Spanish saying captures the tortuous path Greg Garrett took through intense depression and a suicide attempt–into the grace that brought him sanity and a life of service to those he wanted to leave behind. An edgy and engaging spiritual autobiography, Crossing Myself chronicles one man’s dramatic transformation from despairing depressive to joyful servant. An award-winning author and English professor, Greg Garrett crosses himself–in symbolic gesture as well as profound psychological and spiritual reversal–to reveal a redemptive faith. Follow the author’s stirring personal story and discover his stunning insights on this winding road toward spiritual rebirth.

About the Author

Greg Garrett is the author of the novels Free Bird and Cycling (and the forthcoming Sanctuary). His non-fiction works include Holy Superheroes! and The Gospel Reloaded (coauthored with Chris Seay). A winner of the William Faulkner Prize for Fiction, he has published works in journals ranging from from Christianity Today to Utne to Poets and Writers. An award-winning professor at Baylor University, Greg is also a student at Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texas.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: NavPress; Student/Stdy Gde edition (September 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576838560
• ISBN-13: 978-1576838563
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,846,814 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Greg Garrett is the author of over a dozen critically-acclaimed books of fiction, memoir, translation, and criticism. His debut novel Free Bird was chosen by Publishers' Weekly and the Denver Rocky Mountain News as one of the top fiction debuts of 2002, and many have been moved by his autobiographical writing on depression and faith, Crossing Myself and No Idea, but he is probably best known for his books on religion, politics, and culture. These works include One Fine Potion: The Literary Magic of Harry Potter, We Get to Carry Each Other: The Gospel according to U2, Stories from the Edge: A Theology of Grief, Holy Superheroes!, The Gospel According to Hollywood, and The Gospel Reloaded: Exploring Spirituality and Faith in the Matrix (with Chris Seay). His newest book is The Other Jesus, a personal work of theology examining how to be a thoughtful and faithful follower of Jesus in the 21st Century. You may have heard (or read) him talking about religion, politics, and culture in the media. His work has been covered by The New Yorker, USA Today, The Christian Science Monitor, BBC Radio, National Public Radio, CBS Radio, msnbc.com, The Bob Edwards Show, The National Review, Commonweal, and many other broadcast, print, and web venues.

Greg writes a weekly column on religion and politics, Faithful Citizenship, for Patheos (http://patheos.com), blogs on religion and culture for The Thoughtful Christian (http://blog.thethoughtfulchristian.com) and blogs for the Christian Century (http://theotherjesus.com). In addition to his ongoing work in fiction, he is currently doing thinking, research, and writing for book projects on post-9/11 literature and culture, American religion and politics, and Christian wisdom traditions. Greg is an award-winning Professor of English at Baylor University, Writer in Residence at the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest and at Gladstone's Library in Hawarden, Wales, and a licensed lay preacher based at St. David's Episcopal Church in Austin, Texas.

He lives in Austin with his two sons, Jake and Chandler. His heroes include Martin Luther King, Barbara Jordan, Henry David Thoreau, Robert F. Kennedy, Desmond Tutu, and Stevie Ray Vaughn. His favorite authors include Lee Smith, Walker Percy, Graham Greene, Nick Hornby, Barbara Brown Taylor (are you really still reading this?), Scott Fitzgerald, Thomas Merton, Rowan Williams, and Anne Lamott. His favorite color is blue (No, yellow!), he plays Taylor GS-7, Fender Stratocaster, and Epiphone Casino guitars, and he likes both green and red chile on his blue corn enchiladas.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Our reading club reviews, November 8, 2006

By 

Ryan Gibbons - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Crossing Myself: A Story of Spiritual Rebirth (Paperback)

I have read everything Greg Garrett has had published. For those who would be interested in reading Greg's other works, I would recommend his first novel Free Bird, and especially his novel Cycling. But far and away the best thing I have ever read from him is this book. He gives voice to the two things that Christians typically WILL NOT speak about -- depression and doubt. In a painfully honest and poignant way, Greg shares how he navigated the path that leads through the valley of the shadow of death back into the light and life of living. In so doing, he appears to hold nothing back (another refreshing viewpoint from a Christian). I believe that ANYONE who desires to live a spiritual life will be heavily influenced by Greg's gripping testimony. I mean, who can't learn from a guy that teaches at a conservative Baptist university but is also studying to be an Episcopal priest?
-- Ryan G.

As a person who has suffered from depression Greg Garrett's pure honesty in this book is comforting. I loved hearing how God spoke to him even in his deepest darkest moments. I believe God saved Greg in his deep pit of depression to speak to those like me who have felt the same way. Greg is candid about the ups and downs and struggles in his Walk with Christ and that is being Real, a trait greatly needed in American Christianity today.
-- Anne S.

One of the best books of honest Christianity since Blue Like Jazz. Greg Garrett's testimony encourages and re-energizes the struggling and downtrodden spiritual soul.
-- Joshua J.

As someone who is also pursuing the goal of becoming an Episcopal Priest as I emigrate from evangelical Christianity, Greg's is a voice crying out to me in the wilderness. As someone who also struggles with depression, there are large sections of this book that echo the very situations of my own life. I can't recommend this book enough!
-- Brian P.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Book for Recovering Fundamentalists and those looking for a gracious God, October 26, 2006

By 

R. Kidd "luthsem" (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Crossing Myself: A Story of Spiritual Rebirth (Paperback)

I knew Greg from seminary and never knew all of his story except that he was a great writer and I always enjoyed his sermons and lectures but this book is
a godsend. I was raised in a similar dysfunctional religious background and know what he is talking about. There are also people I know that struggle with depression and are afraid to share their story especially with those who call themselves Christians. I highly recommend this book for people who are struggling, hurting and are looking for a gracious God that accepts people unconditionally. God's grace is everywhere even in the suffering of everyday life.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Honest sharing, October 1, 2007

By 

A reader (Norman, Ok USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Crossing Myself: A Story of Spiritual Rebirth (Paperback)

I love Greg Garrett's willingness to share his questions about his faith in God and religion, and then showing the reader the outcome of this exploration. I already enjoyed his other works and this makes me appreciate him more as a Christian.