Fierce Love: A Bold Path to Ferocious Courage and Rule-Breaking Kindness That Can Heal the World

Lewis, a Christian minister and creator of the MSNBC talk show Just Faith, advocates in this passionate memoir-as-sermon for change in a turbulent world via “a demanding, heart transforming, fierce love” that breaks through “tribalism” to find connection and community. Using her own life story and family history, Lewis introduces readers to ubuntu, the Zulu philosophy of “I am who I am because we are who we are.” She proposes nine ubuntu-inspired philosophies geared toward “engineer[ing] a badly needed love revolution to rise up out of the ashes,” among them loving oneself, speaking the truth, living justly, finding joy, and others. There are real-world examples to accompany each, such as of Lewis facing racism for the first time or dealing with her father’s legacy of abuse, her relationships with men, her years as a successful sales representative for Eastman Kodak, and the growing faith that ultimately led to her becoming a minister. Rather than a recipe for self-help, the approach is autobiographical, emphasizing how lives intertwine and actions impact one another, and urging readers to bring in ubuntu as an attitude to accomplish sexual, racial, and economic justice (“What hurts you hurts me. What heals you heals me.”). There’s not one single pathway here; rather it’s a dynamic missive about how one woman has made a difference. (Nov.)