A Tiny Step Away from Deepest Faith: Teenager's Search for Meaning [Paperback]

Marjorie Corbman (Author), Frederica Matthewes-Green (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2005

"In a society where my generation is often mischaracterized or misunderstood by parents and those around them, assumed to be irreligious, cynical, and jaded, I intend to depict it as I see it: which is to say a generation lying just at the door of faith, having rejected everything but faith itself. Having assumed everything to be meaningless, we are very close to accepting God as the only source of meaning." - Marjorie Corbman

In this candid, thought-provoking account, seventeen-year-old Marjorie Corbman teaches the rest of us something about faith. She recounts her own experiences as well as those of many of her friends, dismantling with remarkable transparency and grace the misconceptions surrounding today's teenagers. Chapters focus on issues and experiences that Corbman and her peers are searching for - such as intimacy, tradition, eternity, community, justice, escape - and how each relates to what Corbman calls "the one thing needful" - faith.

Much has been written about teenagers, from self-help books for parents to young adult novels, but very little has been written by teens themselves. This is a book that is sorely needed, both for adults wishing to understand today's kids, and also for those teenagers who wish to assign some meaning to their beliefs, sufferings, and searching.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Early in this short memoir, Corbman observes that her conversion "started gradually, using stepping stones of Christian mysticism." This will not surprise readers familiar with St. Teresa of Avila and the young St. Thérèse of Lisieux. Corbman's deep piety, internal battle with despair and alternating love-hate relationship with the material world echoes the tone and confessional nature of these other women. Still a teenager, Corbman writes without the benefit of much life experience, but sees herself as a definitive voice of her generation, one she consistently describes as "rejecting everything." She's filled to the brim with teen angst, and her obvious youth makes it difficult to hear her frequent use of phrases like "years ago," yet it would be a mistake to dismiss this memoir because of the author's age. Corbman offers readers a rare and thought-provoking gem: the story of a teenage girl struggling with life's biggest questions about meaning, love, suffering, loneliness, and most of all, God. Her story will resonate not because it sounds authentically young adult, but because she is a young adult herself, still searching. She differs only in that she has found a surer spiritual footing than most her age. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 7-10. Seventeen-year-old Corbman was raised as a reform Jew; at 13, chose to practice the Wiccan religion; and then found Christianity and was baptized into the Orthodox church, Easter in 2005. Writing about the struggle of finding a faith may seem beyond the ken of a teenager, but Corbman's sincerity and knowledge of religious traditions makes this compelling reading. Still, this is the work of an unformed, if promising, writer. There is too much repetition, especially as she describes how her religious thinking evolved, and the writing sometimes sounds derivative of other theological writers, such as C. S. Lewis. Corbman seems right on target as she explains why so many of her generation are jaded and disaffected, but like young people throughout history, she has no real understanding of how adults struggled with their own youthful spirituality. As Corbman traces her spiritual thinking, the strongest moments come when she writes about coming face-to-face with a living Jesus, who now informs her life at every level. The intensity of her experience will affect others her age the most. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 101 pages
• Publisher: Paraclete Press (October 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 155725429X
• ISBN-13: 978-1557254290
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,313,519 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tell me again, December 13, 2005

By 

Mark of the North "M.A.N." (Vancouver, BC, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Tiny Step Away from Deepest Faith: Teenager's Search for Meaning (Paperback)

It's worth it. Well worth it.
I'm in my mid-twenties and will be using this book for a study among other 20-something friends.
Yes, one of our obstacles to this decision was the age of the author. Corbman was a teenager when she wrote "A Tiny Step," and a careful reader can tell. However her intelligence, wisdom, education, and insight shine through; the issues she addresses are right on and speak directly to the human condition.
But it is not in spite of her age that I recommend this book, rather because of her age! Corbman speaks a wakeup call into the ears of anyone who thinks the "big questions" are only for "big people." No, they are the questions we all live and die by, no matter our age or stage in life. So I welcome the voice of my younger sister in Christ.
It is true that, in a certain light, this book can at points seem repetitive. But some things bear repeating! By and large Corbman hits these dead on and brings us back to them-- what is life really about? Please tell me again for I often forget. There's a lot to distract us, and perhaps not enough repetition of what we need to focus on.
My only regret is the author's seeming hesitation to reveal the particular details of her path, and of her personal history. I wished for a clearer look at just what she believed and who she was before letting Christ in. Nevertheless this occasional vagueness helps to universalize her story, and brings us in to her struggles as we each recall our own journey alongside the author.
Do not overlook this tiny book; it is too easy for older readers to ignore or dismiss the voices of a teenaged generation. Instead I'm glad to have humbled myself that I could receive what Corbman has to offer. I am grateful for this one teenager's look at life, death, and faith. Her voice counts, and I recommend we all listen.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delightful, November 14, 2005

By 

K Michaelis - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Tiny Step Away from Deepest Faith: Teenager's Search for Meaning (Paperback)

Meet Marjorie Corbman, a now seventeen year old freshman at College of the Holy Cross, a recently baptized member of the Orthodox Church, the daughter of secular Jews, a young woman whose spiritual quest brought her through Judaism, Wicca, Paganism, and the writitngs of numerous philosophers and mystics into ancient Christianity. It's not often that you meet a poised, thoughtful, eloquent fifteen year old who's writing a book that's about to be published. It's even more rare to find one whose heartfelt love of Truth and seeking after God bring her a depth of insight and wisdom into the contemporary youth culture that rivals that of any of the many self-proclaimed "experts." Yet in her newly released book, this one teenager will challenge your preconcieved notions of pop culture.

Written without a typical plot, this book is not your usual run-of-the-mill story about someone's journey into Orthodoxy. Rather, Corbman offers the reader brief glimpses or snapshots into her life at various points on her faith journey. Each one illumines her wrestling with the divine, her individual struggle to understand life and find ultimate meaning. An excellent read for today's teenagers or a good education for today's parents of teenagers, it also reaches out to the rest of us because of her love affair with Truth.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent , interesting, insightful book..., October 5, 2005

By 

Jersey mom (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Tiny Step Away from Deepest Faith: Teenager's Search for Meaning (Paperback)

..that lets you follow a very articulate, thoughtful young girl's search for meaning and spirituality. The teenage author writes beautifully and seems to have a great sense of humor. You realize through reading this book just how beautiful she really is. She loves people and can always see the good in everyone. She is one of the few people who is really at peace and understands her spirituality. Marjorie Corbman tells her story with a rare grace and intelligence. It is so uncommon these days, when most people are busy struggling with their own lives, for someone to look beyond their daily travails to seek a greater meaning to life. She does that through her telling of her spiritual journey and how she found God, how she found Jesus, and how he captivated her. Her writing is exquisite and she tells about her journey with such articulate speech and a knowledge that is way beyond her years. I highly recommend this book.