Post-Katrina resource!
Act of God, Active God: Recovering from Natural Disasters

By Dr. Gary Harbaugh (Augsburg Fortress, 2001; 86 pages; $9.00 (before discount), paper. Special Offer: Buy this book online at before the end of 2005 and you will get a 50 percent discount.

Whether you are a victim of a natural disaster such as Hurricane Katrina, part of the rescue effort, or someone who must view the devastation from afar, it is only natural to wonder what role God plays in these events.

Harbaugh, a retired professor of Pastoral Care at Trinity Lutheran Seminary and resource pastor for Lutheran Disaster Response, has written this short but powerful book about the questions many of us have when we hear about events that insurance companies typically call "acts of God." Instead of thinking of natural disasters as "acts of God," suggests Harbaugh, think of them as times when God is particularly active—in and through us, others and our Christian communities.

His message to those in distress is relational and incarnational: "We are not alone. The Lord is with us." Harbaugh stresses that the act didn't originate with God, but the "way out" and the endurance does. He doesn't dwell on the why of the event, but on the what now.

Packed with Scripture references, Act of God is an excellent discussion and prayer-group resource. The book's ultimate purpose, though, is to assist people who are in the midst of recovering from a natural disaster. The final chapter about "faithful self-care and care-giving" is a series of suggestions for those in dire straits, followed by questions to help people think through their process of recovery and self-care. This is a valuable resource for all who struggle with the disorientation we feel in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

—Teresa Blythe

The wounds of war
Lizzie's War

By Tim Farrington, (HarperSanFrancisco, 2005; 384 pages; $24.95, hardcover; 415-477-4468)

Lizzie's War opens during the race riots in Detroit in the summer of 1967, details one year in the life of an Irish-Catholic family, and ends with a touching reunion between the title character and her Marine Corps husband, Mike.

Farrington doesn't shy away from the ugliness of war; feelings of bitterness and anger wash over Lizzie, although her sons are intrigued by the Vietnam war and proud of their father's military service. Mike shares his war experiences through letters home, always peppered with dark humor. When he is wounded, a reader can feel Lizzie's inner turmoil. Her unhappiness over her fifth pregnancy and the brutal demands of single motherhood, and her melancholy over her unfulfilled dream of working in the theater, lead her to self-medication through drinking and to friendship with a priest having a crisis of faith.

At the end of the novel, when Lizzie and Mike are deciding whether they still love one another, they trace their fingers over each other's scars—Mike's from the battlefield, Lizzie's from a C-section. The scene is reminiscent of the story of Peter's tracing Jesus' wounds after the resurrection. Mike and Lizzie have been kept apart by their personal wars, but love brings them together again at a different place in their relationship.

This novel is a wonderful weave of humor and reality, honest characters and fluid prose.

—Katie-Murphy O'Brien, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Tiburon, Calif.

The road trip as spiritual memoir
Through Painted Deserts: Light, God, and Beauty on the Open Road

By Donald Miller (Nelson Books, 2005; 256 pages; $13.99, paper)

Fans should be aware that this book is essentially a reprise of one Miller published in 2000, Prayer and the Art of Volkswagen Maintenance. He comes across as a much younger person here—one nearer the age of his target audience of 18-to-24-year-olds. Miller explores many of the challenges college students and young singles encounter on their faith journeys, reassuring them that they are not alone

—Sally Curd, Southside Presbyterian Church, Tucson, Ariz.

More ways to pray
Beyond Words: 15 Ways of Doing Prayer

By Kristen Johnson Ingram (Morehouse Publishing, 2004; 113 pages; $12.95, paper)