This season’s titles include memoirs on racial identity, deep dives into end-of-times philosophies, and perspectives on issues from climate change to conspiracy theories.
Top 10
Asian American Apostate: Losing Religion and Finding Myself at an Evangelical University
R. Scott Okamoto. Lake Drive, Apr. 18 ($18.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-957687-13-1)
A musician recounts his experiences as an Asian American teaching at a conservative Christian college rife with homophobia, misogyny, purity culture, and racism.
Christendom: The Triumph of a Religion, AD 300–1300
Peter Heather. Knopf, Apr. 4 ($35, ISBN 978-0-451-49430-6)
Historian Heather tracks the growth and spread of early Christianity, from its emergence in Palestine to its eventual widespread dominance in Europe.
Code Name Edelweiss
Stephanie Landsem. Tyndale, Mar. 7 ($26.99, ISBN 978-1-4964-6066-0)
In this 1933-set novel, Jewish lawyer Leon Lewis conscripts reluctant German-born Liesl Weiss as a spy to track a wave of Nazism spreading through Hollywood.
Curveball: When Your Faith Takes Turns You Never Saw Coming (or How I Stumbled and Tripped My Way to Finding a Bigger God)
Peter Enns. HarperOne, Feb. 7 ($27.99, ISBN 978-0-06-309347-8)
A Bible scholar explains how Christians can use life’s “curveballs” to embrace doubt, critically reexamine God and the Bible, and forge a stronger faith.
Everybody Come Alive: A Memoir in Essays
Marcie Alvis Walker. Convergent, May 30 ($27, ISBN 978-0-593-44372-9)
Black Coffee with White Friends blogger Walker discusses coming of age in the post–Jim Crow South, her mother’s mental illness, racial trauma, struggles with body dysmorphia, and God.
Following Jesus in a Warming World: A Christian Call to Climate Action
Kyle Meyaard-Schaap. IVP, Feb. 21 ($18 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-5140-0445-6)
Meyaard-Schaap, a vice-president of the Evangelical Environmental Network, considers the scriptural basis for climate activism, explores why it’s historically been considered un-evangelical, and advocates for change.
In Feast or Famine
Mesu Andrews. Waterbrook, May 23 ($17 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-593-19378-5)
In this biblical romance, Asenath is promised by her high priest father to the newly appointed Hebrew vizier Joseph and must decide whether to trust her husband and his foreign God.
The King Is in the Field: Essays in Modern Jewish Political Thought
Edited by Julie Cooper and Samuel Hayim Brody. Univ. of Pennsylvania, June 6 ($69.95, ISBN 978-1-5128-2409-4)
Contributors examine how Jewish communities have engaged with politics during two millennia of statelessness and beyond.
The Tibetan Book of the Dead for Beginners: A Guide to Living and Dying
Lama Lhanang Rinpoche, Mordy Levine. Sounds True, June 27 ($18.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-64963-132-9)
Buddhist teacher Lhanang and Meditation Pro Series creator Levine share wisdom inspired by the classic Tibetan Buddhist text. 35,000-copy announced first printing.
The Wonder Paradox: Embracing the Weirdness of Existence and the Poetry of Our Lives
Jennifer Michael Hecht. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Mar. 7 ($29, ISBN 978-0-374-29274-4)
A poet and historian offers up poetry as a vital site of meaning in a society that’s becoming more secular.
Religion & Spirituality Listings
Fiction
Atria
Just Once by Karen Kingsbury (Apr. 25, $27.99, ISBN 978-1-982104-44-3). It’s 1941, and beautiful Irvel Ellis is dating Sam but is secretly in love with his brother Hank—a situation that grows thorny when Pearl Harbor is attacked, Sam enlists, and Irvel and Hank bond on the home front.
Barbour
Letters of Trust (Friendship Letters #1) by Wanda E. Brunstetter (Mar. 1, $16.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-63609-334-5). Newlyweds Vic and Eleanor Lapp are blissfully happy on their Pennsylvania Amish farm until a family death drives Vic to alcohol, imperiling the marriage and prompting Eleanor to write to her friend Doretta seeking advice.
Bethany House
The Metropolitan Affair by Jocelyn Green (Mar. 14, $16.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-7642-3963-2). Childhood friends Laura Westlake, an Egyptology expert, and detective Joe Caravello reunite as adults to hunt down the culprit behind a spate of artifact forgeries in 1920s Manhattan.
Kregel
Counterfeit Hope by Crystal Caudill (Feb. 14, $15.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-8254-4741-9). “Lightning” Lu Thorne—so nicknamed for her pickpocketing skills—dreams of fleeing her small town and criminal family, but after her decision to serve as an informant backfires, she must work with secret service operative Andrew Darlington for any hope of escape.
Thomas Nelson
Famous for a Living by Melissa Ferguson (May 16, $16.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-8407-0248-7). After influencer Cat Cranwell is shunned by her online community because of a misguided app partnership, she lands a job as the social media strategist for a small national park, where she meets a rugged ranger.
Paraclete
Bastille Day by Gregory Todd Garrett (Apr. 4, $19.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-64060-751-4). In Paris, a journalist scarred by memories of the Iraq war runs into the Saudi woman he’d fallen for a decade before—and he’s dismayed to learn she is arranged to marry a sheikh.
Revell
After the Shadows by Amanda Cabot (Mar. 21, $16.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-8007-4064-1). Shortly after Emily Leland returns to her Texas hometown, her father dies suspiciously. She and schoolteacher Craig Ferguson work to unravel the mystery, which may relate to a pattern of recent accidents around town.
The Sound of Light by Sarah Sundin (Feb. 7, $17.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-8007-3638-5). In WWII-era German-occupied Copen-
hagen, physicist Else Jensen and Baron Henrik Ahlfeldt get involved in the resistance movement and grow close as boardinghouse roommates—though each is unaware of the other’s secret.
Tyndale
Double the Lies by Patricia Raybon (Feb. 7, $26.99, ISBN 978-1-4964-5842-1). In 1924, amateur detective Annalee Spain works to solve a mystery involving a woman’s death and her pastor boyfriend’s disappearance, all while evading the Klan-infiltrated police force.
Indigo Isle by T.I. Lowe (June 6, $25.99, ISBN 978-1-4964-6559-7). When Hollywood location scout Sonny Bates returns to her home state of South Carolina for a shoot, she discovers a private island near Charleston and a reclusive owner who’s not eager to heed the production company’s requests.
WATERBROOK
The Tapestry of Grace by Kim Vogel Sawyer (Apr. 18, $17 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-593-19438-6). A women’s benevolent society aims to help a reserved Mennonite widower care for his young children in this historical romance.
Nonfiction
Ave Maria
From Prodigal to Priest: A Journey Home to Family, Faith, and the Father’s Embrace by Goyo Hidalgo (Feb. 24, $14.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-64680-212-8). A former hard partier is awakened to God when he sees John Paul II’s televised funeral mass, setting him on the road to priesthood.
Baker
Listen to Your Day: The Life-Changing Practice of Paying Attention by Paul Angone (Apr. 4, $17.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-5409-0071-5) outlines ways to move past “inattentional blindness” to better focus on personal priorities, daily life, and God.
Basic
The Word: How We Translate the Bible—and Why It Matters by John Barton (May 2, $32, ISBN 978-1-5416-0368-4) delves into the challenges of scriptural translation, including questions of literary style, inclusive language, and “literal” versus “free” translation.
Brandeis Univ.
The Beauty of the Hebrew Letter: From Scrolls to Graffiti by Izzy Pludwinski (May 20, $50, ISBN 978-1-68458-146-7) traces the calligraphic evolution of the aleph-bet, surveying ancient inscriptions, Torah scrolls, and street art.
Brazos
Living Resistance: An Indigenous Vision for Seeking Wholeness Every Day by Kaitlin B. Curtice (Mar. 7, $21.99, ISBN 978-1-58743-571-3) suggests methods of individual and communal resistance to build a more connected world.
Sober Spirituality: The Joy of a Mindful Relationship with Alcohol by Erin Jean Warde (Apr. 18, $18.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-58743-567-6). An Episcopal priest embarks on a quest to quit drinking, and dispenses advice to Christians wishing to do the same.
Broadleaf
My Body and Other Crumbling Empires: Lessons for Healing in a World That Is Sick by Lyndsey Medford (Mar. 7, $24.99, ISBN 978-1-5064-8431-0). A woman recounts her struggles with an autoimmune disease, and uses sickness as a metaphor to examine ailing social, medical, and economic systems.
The Spirituality of Grief: Ten Practices for Those Who Remain by Fran Tilton Shelton (Apr. 18, $17.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-5064-8310-8) draws from various religious traditions to suggest ways of coping with mourning.
What Makes You Come Alive: A Spiritual Walk with Howard Thurman by Lerita Coleman Brown (Feb. 7, $24.99, ISBN 978-1-5064-7465-6) tracks the civil rights leader’s life and touches on his role as Martin Luther King Jr.’s spiritual advisor, encounters with Mahatma Gandhi, and experiences in the Jim Crow South.
Convergent
Sensual Faith: The Art of Coming Home to Your Body by Lyvonne Briggs (Mar. 21, $17, ISBN 978-0-593-44321-7) encourages women to develop sex-positive attitudes toward their bodies and fortify their spirituality in the process.
DK
Sikhs: A Story of a People, Their Faith, and Culture (Apr. 25, $50, ISBN 978-0-7440-7752-0) looks at the Sikh religion, which has 30 million adherents, and its history, traditions, and egalitarian values.
Eerdmans
Beyond Immanence: The Theological Vision of Kierkegaard and Barth by Alan J. and Andrew B. Torrance (May 25, $49.99, ISBN 978-0-8028-6803-9) dissects the philosophers’ belief in a Christocentric faith free from political manipulation and state influence.
Faith and Fake News: A Guide to Consuming Information Wisely by Rachel I. Wightman (May 30, $19.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-8028-8245-5) explores how Christians can engage responsibly with online news sources while honoring their religious principles.
Oral Roberts and the Rise of the Prosperity Gospel by Jonathan Root (Apr. 20, $26 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-8028-7727-7) chronicles the televangelist’s life, from his Depression-era childhood to the finance-based theology that brought him fame.
QAnon, Chaos, and the Cross: Christianity and Conspiracy Theories, edited by Michael W. Austin and Gregory L. Bock (May 23, $24.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-8028-8265-3), investigates the appeal of conspiracy theories in faith communities, and proposes Christian values to chart a better path forward.
Faithwords
Breakthrough: The Power of Disruptive Thinking by T.D. Jakes (May 9, $27, ISBN 978-1-5460-0400-4). A pastor and media entrepreneur lays out tools to turn original but against-the-grain ideas into reality.
Disobedient God: Trusting a God Who Goes Off-Script by Albert Tate (Apr. 25, $26, ISBN 978-1-5460-0056-3) discusses how and why to maintain a steadfast belief in God during moments of difficulty and religious doubt.
Focus on the Family
Parenting Gen Z: Guiding Your Child Through a Hostile Culture by Jason Jimenez (June 6, $16.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-64607-007-7) provides a roadmap for Christian parents to deal with issues such as depression, pornography, sex, and abortion.
Fortress
Open: Unorthodox Thoughts on God and Community by Brad R. Braxton (Apr. 4, $24 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-5064-8881-3) advocates for pluralism in church communities and discusses reparations, LGBTQ equality, and environmental justice.
Sacred Pregnancy: Birth, Motherhood, and the Quest for Spiritual Community by Ann W. Duncan (Apr. 25, $28 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-5064-8556-0) examines the intersection of reproduction and Christian faith, casting pregnancy and birth as holy rites of passage.
Hampton Roads
Meister Eckhart’s Book of Darkness & Light: Meditations on the Path of the Wayless Way by Jon M. Sweeney, Mark S. Burrows, and Meister Eckhart (Mar. 1, $16.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-64297-045-6) highlights the spiritual insights of the Christian mystic and his comments on finding God through darkness.
HarperOne
God the Bestseller: How One Editor Transformed American Religion a Book at a Time by Stephen Prothero (Mar. 14, $29.99, ISBN 978-0-06-246404-0) recounts Eugene Exman’s tenure at Harper, during which he published culture-shifting works by Harry Emerson Fosdick, Martin Luther King Jr., Dorothy Day, and others. 35,000-copy announced first printing.
Herald
Godbreathed: What It Really Means for the Bible to Be Divinely Inspired by Zack Hunt (May 9, $18.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-5138-1183-3) invites Christians to look beyond literal ideas of scripture in order to access God’s deeper spiritual truths.
Stuck Together: The Hope of Christian Witness in a Polarized World by J. Nelson Kraybill (Apr. 11, $18.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-5138-1064-5) explains how believers can use scriptural wisdom to seek common ground with those with whom they disagree.
Hodder Faith
Finding the Peacemakers: A Journey of Faith from the Mines of Chile to the Deserts of the Middle East by Dan Morrice (May 2, $14.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-5293-5819-3) sets out on a global quest to find those forging peace in extreme environments, including war-torn nations and disaster zones, and extracts insights on using Christian faith to further peace.
Woman Remembered: Jesus’ Female Disciples by Joan Taylor (June 13, $21.99, ISBN 978-1-5293-7259-5) highlights biblical women and complicates their depictions in scripture, religious art, and elsewhere.
IVP
Non-toxic Masculinity: Recovering Healthy Male Sexuality by Zachary Wagner (Apr. 18, $18 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-5140-0502-6) contends that purity culture is harmful, and puts forth a new version of Christian male sexuality rooted in empathy and selflessness.
On Getting Out of Bed: The Burden and Gift of Living by Alan Noble (Apr. 18, $20, ISBN 978-1-5140-0443-2) opens up about fighting depression, anxiety, and other emotional challenges through small but important daily choices.
IVP Academic
Being God’s Image: Why Creation Still Matters by Carmen Joy Imes (May 30, $22 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-5140-0020-5) analyzes creationism narratives in the book of Genesis and elsewhere, and investigates what it means to be “made in God’s image.”
Lake Drive
Stumbling: Picking up the Pieces After Coming Out of the Closet and Evangelicalism by Brandon Flanery (June 7, $18.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-957687-12-4) considers the personal and religious questions that arose after the author came out as gay within an Evangelical community.
Leafwood
Overlooked by Whitney Akin (Apr. 11, $16.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-68426-192-5) tackles the human need for attention in a social media-obsessed society, and suggests a closer relationship with God as a solution.
Lexham
After Dispensationalism: Reading the Bible for the End of the World by Brian P. Irwin (May 3, $29.99, ISBN 978-1-68359-681-3) engages the history and beliefs of a controversial end-times theory that contends Jesus will return twice.
I’m a Christian—Now What? A Guide to Your New Life with Christ by Aaron Armstrong (Mar. 1, $16.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-68359-671-4) provides recent converts advice on reading the Bible, praying, finding the right church, rethinking sex and marriage, and disagreeing with other Christians.
Liturgical
Living Christ by Peter Feldmeier (Apr. 15, $29.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-8146-6821-4) offers a guide to reading and interpreting the Gospels, and contends that doing so is essential to fully understand the texts and to know God.
Loyola
Ask a Catholic Parent by Julianne Stanz (June 6, $16.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-8294-5517-5) offers spiritual guidance to parents raising children according to Catholic principles.
Morehouse
He Called Me Sister: A True Story of Finding Humanity on Death Row by Suzanne Craig Robertson (Feb. 21, $29.95, ISBN 978-1-64065-595-9) recounts the author’s 15-year friendship with Cecil Johnson, who was incarcerated on death row.
Multnomah
Beautiful Union: How God’s Vision for Sex Points Us to the Good, Unlocks the True, and (Sort of) Explains Everything by Joshua Ryan Butler (Apr. 25, $18 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-593-44503-7) details a philosophy of sex rooted in Christian theology.
Please, Sorry, Thanks: The Three Words That Change Everything by Mark Batterson (Apr. 4, $22, ISBN 978-0-593-19279-5) recommends using the “three magic words” in daily life to strengthen personal gratitude, humility, and relationships.
Stumbling Toward Eternity: Losing and Finding Ourselves in the Cross of Jesus by Josh White (Feb. 28, $17 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-593-19393-8). A pastor reexamines the cross as an emblem of Jesus’s humility and sacrifice, and endeavors to use these insights to help believers find meaningful faith.
NavPress
Ordinary Discipleship: How God Wires Us for the Adventure of Transformation by Jessie Cruickshank (May 9, $15.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-64158-732-7) draws on scripture and brain science to frame spiritual growth as a rewarding quest into the unknown.
North Atlantic
Refuge in the Storm: Buddhist Approaches to Compassionate Crisis Care, edited by Nathan Jishin Michon (June 6, $18.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-62317-809-3), outlines spiritual practices to help individuals, communities, families, and the care providers who support them during a crisis.
Shambhala
Enlightenment Is an Accident: Ancient Wisdom and Simple Practices to Make You Accident Prone by Tim Burkett, edited by Wanda Isle (May 16, $19.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-64547-135-6), plumbs the paradoxes of transcendence, among them that it can only be achieved when one stops trying to reach it.
The Mysterion: Rumi and the Secret of Becoming Fully Human by Kabir Helminski (Apr. 4, $21.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-64547-144-8) draws on the insights of 13th-century poet and mystic Rumi to underline the importance of cultivating divine potential in order to be more human.
Turning Words: Transformative Encounters with Buddhist Teachers by Hozan Alan Senauke (Mar. 7, $18.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-64547-131-8). A Zen priest shares the life-changing phrases of friends and Buddhist teachers, including the Dalai Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh, to deliver insights into faith and social action.
Simon & Schuster
Armageddon by Bart D. Ehrman (Mar. 21, $27.99, ISBN 978-198214-799-0) analyzes the Book of Revelations and critiques popular interpretations of the end times.
Tyndale
All My Knotted-Up Life: A Memoir by Beth Moore (Feb. 21, $27.99, ISBN 978-1-4964-7267-0). Moore, a bible teacher and founder of Living Proof Ministries, traces the winding path of her belief and reflects on the familial, religious, and personal challenges she met along the way.
Ulysses
Spell Jars for the Modern Witch by Minerva Siegel (May 30, $16.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-64604-495-5) lays out guidance for sealed-container spellcrafting, including spells for financial abundance, nightmare protection, and successful job hunting.
Univ. of California
The Consuming Fire: The Complete Priestly Source, from Creation to the Promised Land by Liane Feldman (Apr. 11, $19.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-520-38365-4) provides the full text of one of the four foundational sources of the Old Testament, which describes the origins of the Jewish people and their relationship with God.
Univ. of Notre Dame
Touch the Wounds: On Suffering, Trust, and Transformation by Tomáš Halík, trans. by Gerald Turner (Mar. 1, $25, ISBN 978-0-268-20489-1) uses Jesus’s wounds as a metaphor to reflect on Christian concepts of suffering.
Univ. of Pennsylvania
A Life of Psalms in Jewish Late Antiquity by A.J. Berkovitz (June 20, $59.95, ISBN 978-1-5128-2418-6) explores the Psalter and how late ancient Jews engaged with it, whether interpreting it exegetically or singing it as liturgy.
W
Midlife Battle Cry: Redefining the Mighty Second Half by Dawn Barton (May 9, $18.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-7852-9482-5) argues that improved self-knowledge in middle age can make room for personal fulfillment and a more meaningful relationship with God.
Waiting in Hope: 31 Reflections for Walking with God Through Infertility by Jennifer Hesse, Kelley Ramsey (Apr. 11, $24.99, ISBN 978-0-7852-9038-4) draws on a mix of scriptural wisdom, testimonies, and personal narratives to help women navigate the emotional fallout of infertility.
Why Am I Like This? How to Break Cycles, Heal from Trauma, and Restore Your Faith by Kobe Campbell (Apr. 4, $18.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-7852-9642-3) calls for believers to examine unaddressed emotional wounds and personal truths to accept God’s healing.
Waterbrook
Hope Is the First Dose: A Treatment Plan for Recovering from Trauma, Tragedy, and Other Massive Things by W. Lee Warren (July 25, $26, ISBN 978-0-593-44539-6). A neurosurgeon reflects on the death of his 19-year-old son and the godly love that helped him endure.
Wisdom
Noble Truths, Noble Path: The Heart Essence of the Buddha’s Original Teachings by Bhikkhu Bodhi (Feb. 14, $44.95, ISBN 978-1-61429-798-7) surveys Buddhism’s eightfold path for insights on liberation.
Zondervan
The Anxiety Opportunity: How Worry is the Doorway to Your Best Self by Curtis Chang (May 16, $18.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-310-36728-4) reframes anxiety as a tool to promote spiritual growth when transformed into productive energy.
Finish Line: Dispelling Fear, Finding Peace, and Preparing for the End of Your Life by Robert Wolgemuth (Mar. 7, $27.99, ISBN 978-0-310-36489-4) offers biblical wisdom to inform a host of end-of-life considerations, including drawing up wills, straightening out finances, blessing others, and caring for those left behind. ■
