On September 27, Worthy Publishing released Cathleen Falsani's Belieber: Fame, Faith, and the Heart of Justin Bieber. Falsani, author of The Dude Abides: The Gospel According to the Coen Brothers (Zondervan), talked to RBL from her home in Laguna Beach, California.
RBL: What prompted you to write this book?
Falsani: A dear friend of mine, David Vanderveen, and I were having lunch at a sushi place near where I live, and we were tossing around what kinds of writing projects we might tackle next. Between bites of maki, he suggested that I should write the "gospel according to Justin Bieber." Alternately laughing and choking on my sushi, I realized David was serious and that I should probably get right on the project before someone else wrote it. So my agent and I pitched it to Worthy because of their commitment to creative projects like this one and because of their ability to get things done quickly.
RBL: Were you already a fan of Justin Bieber? Were you already familiar with him and his music and his commitment to the Christian faith?
Falsani: I think I was aware of who he was, but most of what I knew came from the pop culture blogs I follow. A Rolling Stone cover story—"God, Girls, and Boatloads of Swag"—really got my attention, though, and got me hooked on Justin and deeply interested in his story. In that article, I was struck by the way that Justin talked about God and his family; he was very nuanced in his comments and didn't sound at all scripted. What really struck me was Justin's sincerity and thoughtfulness.
RBL: What were the challenges of writing the book?
Falsani: I spent lots of time trying to get an interview with Justin or his mother, and I'm disappointed that I wasn't able to talk to either of them directly for the book. Also, I wrote this book very quickly over three months, and so I wanted to be sure I was presenting the material available about Justin as accurately and correctly as possible. There's a ton of material about Justin, and I was hypersensitive about representing him as faithfully as I could since I could not interview him.
RBL: What message do you want people to take from the book?
Falsani: Well, Justin's message to his fans grows out of his own experience of feeling blessed and giving thanks for where it comes from. He can't help telling people that God loves him, that he wants to be true to his heart, and to love forward, as he calls it, in part by giving back to others through charities. He is remarkably true to himself in an industry where image is everything. In a similar way, I hope my book will be a catalyst for conversation between parents and children about the important things in life such as love, faith, and responsibility to others. I hope readers will come away from the book knowing how much they are loved and how much they can do in the world with a grateful heart.
