Among the religion & spirituality books landing in January, Dorothy Day’s grand-daughter Kate Hennessey writes an in-depth biography of the Catholic icon, a natural healing expert offers soulful approaches to treating chronic and life-threatening illnesses, and the survivor of a botched abortion writes a memoir of finding and forgiving the woman who carried her.
Nonfiction
Jan. 1
Unexpected Recoveries: Seven Steps to Healing Body, Mind, and Soul When Serious Illness Strikes by Tom Monte (Square One, $17.95 paper, ISBN 978-0-757004-00-1). Monte combines modern medicine with ancient healing practices and macrobiotic eating guidelines to help those suffering from chronic or life-threatening diseases find healing. 15,000-copy announced first printing.
Jan. 3
What Does It All Mean? by Richard Leonard (Paulist, $24.95, ISBN 978-0-8091-0641-7). Father Leonard addresses questions that come up in and outside the church and makes a case for belief based on his personal experiences.
Letters to a Young Muslim by Omar Saif Ghobash (Picador, $22, ISBN 978-1-250119-84-1). Ghobash, the ambassador of the U.A.E. to Russia, explores realities of being a Muslim in the 21st century through letters written to his sons.
Jan. 9
You Carried Me: A Daughter’s Memoir by Melissa Ohden (Plough, $19.99, ISBN 978-0-87486-788-6). Ohden, who survived a botched abortion, recounts finding and forgiving her mother who did not know she was alive. 20,000-copy announced first printing, $100,000 ad/promo budget.
Jan. 17
The Myths of Liberal Zionism by Yitzhak Laor (Verso, $16.95 paper, ISBN 978-1-784786-28-1). Using writings of Amos Oz, David Grossman, and more, poet Laor examines beliefs Western European liberal intellectuals have about Israel, Zionism, and the Israeli peace camp.
There Is No Good Card for This: What to Say and Do When Life Is Scary, Awful, and Unfair to People You Love by Emily McDowell and Kelsey Crowe (HarperOne, $25.99; ISBN 978-0-06-246999-1) is an illustrated guide to compassion aimed at helping readers connect with those suffering from grief, severe illness, and other difficult situations. 50,000 copies.
Jan. 24
Dorothy Day: The World Will Be Saved by Beauty by Kate Hennessy (Scribner, $27.99, ISBN 978-1-501133-96-1) is an intimate biography of the controversial Catholic that delves into her life before conversion, written by her granddaughter.
Fiction
Jan. 10
Because You’re Mine by Colleen Coble (Thomas Nelson, $12.99 paper, ISBN 978-0-718083-80-9). Alanna must choose between a marriage of convenience or a life alone after a tragedy makes enemies of her in-laws.
Jan. 31
The Dog Who Was There by Ron Marasco (Thomas Nelson, $15.99 paper, ISBN 978-0-718083-92-2) follows Barley, a dog in first-century-C.E. Judea that encounters Christ’s kindness.
A Note Yet Unsung by Tamera Alexander (Bethany House Publishers, $15.99 paper; ISBN 978-0-7642-0624-5). Rebekah Carrington fights her way into the newly-formed Nashville Philharmonic as a master violinist despite gender inequality and an ego-driven conductor. 60,000 copies.
