Titles coming from religion and spirituality publishers in September include Pope Francis’s Gift of Joy and Hope, a guide to female empowerment based on Hindu goddesses, and more.
Nonfiction
Sept. 1
The Book of Revolutions: The Battles of Priests, Prophets, and Kings That Birthed the Torah by Edward Feld (Jewish Publication Society, $29.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-8276-1522-9). Rabbi Feld explores the impact of three biblical-era revolutions on the development of legal codes in the Torah and their significance to contemporary Judaism.
Sept. 6
Catholicism: A Global History from the French Revolution to Pope Francis by John T. McGreevy (Norton, $35, ISBN 978-1-324-00388-5). Historian McGreevy chronicles the halting efforts of reform within the Catholic Church over the last 250 years.
Sacred Nature: Restoring Our Ancient Bond with the Natural World by Karen Armstrong (Knopf, $28, ISBN 978-0-593-31943-7). Religion historian Armstrong looks at how religious traditions across history have found the divine in the natural world. 50,000-copy announced first printing.
Wild Ride: A Memoir of I.V. Drips and Rocket Ships by Hayley Arceneaux (Convergent, $26, ISBN 978-0-593-44384-2). Arceneaux details how her faith supported her as she overcame bone cancer and became the youngest American to go to space.
Expecting Emmanuel: Eight Women Who Prepared the Way by Joanna Harader (Herald, $14.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-5138-1055-3) examines the lives of Jesus’s female ancestors Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary, as well as three other women who played significant roles in his early life.
Reading the Bible, Missing the Gospel: Recovering from (Shockingly Common) Ways We Get the Bible Wrong in Our Everyday Lives by Ben Connelly (Moody, $14.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-8024-2849-3) unpacks prevalent misreadings of the Bible and explores what the story of Jesus’s life has to teach Christians about day-to-day life.
To Love and Be Loved: A Personal Portrait of Mother Teresa by Jim Towey (S&S, $27, ISBN 978-1-9821-9562-5). Towey, a former adviser to Teresa of Calcutta, shares an insider account of her life and his work with her.
Roar Like a Goddess: Every Woman’s Guide to Becoming Unapologetically Powerful, Prosperous, and Peaceful by Acharya Shunya (Sounds True, $19.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-68364-882-6) outlines how women can find empowerment by following the examples set by Hindu goddesses. 35,000-copy announced first printing.
Sept 13
You’ve Been Chosen: Thriving Through the Unexpected by Cynt Marshall (Ballantine, $26.99, ISBN 978-0-593-35941-9). Marshall, CEO of the Dallas Mavericks, recounts her trajectory from growing up with an abusive father to achieving success as an executive at AT&T to her struggles following a stage 3 colon cancer diagnosis.
A Brown Girl’s Epiphany: Reclaim Your Intuition and Step into Your Power by Aurelia Dávila Pratt (Broadleaf, $22.99, ISBN 978-1-5064-8060-2) offers advice on fighting oppression and finding one’s inner strength through the power of God.
Stealing My Religion: Not Just Any Cultural Appropriation by Liz Bucar (Harvard Univ., $27.95, ISBN 978-0-674-98703-6) contemplates the ethics of the appropriation of religious symbols and activities, including the secularization of yoga and the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage routes.
Ritual: How Seemingly Senseless Acts Make Life Worth Living by Dimitris Xygalatas (Little, Brown Spark, $30, ISBN 978-0-316-46240-2) digs into the enduring appeal of ceremonies, using science to explain what birthday parties have in common with coronations and silent prayer.
Godly Dating 101: Discovering the Truth about Relationships in a World That Constantly Lies by Tovares and Safa Grey (Thomas Nelson, $18.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-7852-9301-9) dispenses advice for how Christians can stay true to their faith while navigating the dating world.
Worship in the Early Church by Justo L. González and Catherine Gunsalus González (WJK, $35 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-664-26782-7) studies how Christian liturgies and practices calcified from the first through fifth centuries.
Sept. 15
The Unjust Steward: Wealth, Poverty, and the Church Today by Miguel Escobar (Forward Movement, $25 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-880-28511-7) advocates for Christians to reconsider how they view wealth inequality and to renew their commitment to Jesus’s teachings about valuing the poor and downtrodden.
Teresa of Calcutta: Dark Night, Active Love by Jon M. Sweeney (Liturgical, $19.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-8146-6615-9) recounts the deeds that led to Mother Teresa’s canonization and looks at how she differs from previous saints.
The Seven Deadly Sins of White Christian Nationalism: A Call to Action by Carter Heyward (Rowman & Littlefield, $34, ISBN 978-1-5381-6789-2) critiques the white supremacy, misogyny, and violence that the author argues is ascendant among the nationalist wing of conservative Christianity.
Sept. 19
Disciples of Courage: Ten Christian Lives that Inspire by Brendan Comerford (Messenger, $25.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-78812-567-3) looks at how 10 Christians from the last hundred years embodied their faith, including Dorothy Day, Óscar Romero, and Edith Stein.
Sept. 20
Confronting Jesus: 9 Encounters with the Hero of the Gospels by Rebecca McLaughlin (Crossway, $14.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-4335-8113-7). The companion to McLaughlin’s Confronting Christianity suggests that the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John constitute legitimate historical documents.
Hold That Thought: Sorting Through the Voices in Our Heads by Gem Fadling (IVP Formation, $18 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-8308-3169-2) provides guidance for quieting negative self-talk and focusing on the voice of God.
Your Purpose Is Calling: Your Difference Is Your Destiny by Dharius Daniels (Zondervan, $26.99, ISBN 978-0-310-36479-5) offers Christian guidance on getting in touch with oneself and fulfilling God’s purpose for one’s life.
Sept. 27
Jhana Consciousness: Buddhist Meditation in the Age of Neuroscience by Paul Dennison (Shambhala, $24.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-64547-080-9) looks at the Buddhist jhana meditation from a scientific perspective and argues that the practice is ripe for a revival.
A Gift of Joy and Hope by Pope Francis (Worthy, $27, ISBN 978-1-5460-0369-4) collects the Pope’s thoughts on how to maintain a steadfast faith and a sense of hope during difficult times.
Sept. 30
An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jewish History and Judaism: A History of the Jewish People, Their Religion and Philosophy, Traditions and Practices by Lawrence Joffe and Dan Cohn-Sherbok (Lorenz, $50.95, ISBN 978-0-7548-3544-8) chronicles the history of Judaism from ancient times through to the modern era.
Fiction
Sept. 6
Beneath the Bending Skies by Jane Kirkpatrick (Revell, $17.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-8007-3612-5). When Mollie Sheehan meets Peter Ronan, she thinks she’s found the love of her life, but she must overcome her father’s wishes and move across the country if she wants to be with him.
Come Down Somewhere by Jennifer L. Wright (Tyndale, $26.99, ISBN 978-1-4964-7167-3). In this WWII-era historical, the U.S. government takes Olive Alexander’s family’s New Mexico ranch and establishes an Army base there. Olive forms a fraught friendship with the daughter of an Army sergeant while struggling to make sense of the worrying rumors about the base’s purpose.
Yesterday’s Gone by Cindy and Erin Woodsmall (Tyndale, $26.99, ISBN 978-1-4964-7256-4). Eliza Bontrager ignores the warnings of her Amish community that she’ll be unable to have children if she marries into the Ebersol family. After the death of her third child, she regrets marrying and decides to see if her great-aunt’s quilt can grant wishes like she claimed.
Fields of Fire by Ryan Steck (Tyndale, $26.99, 978-1-4964-6286-2) former marine Matthew Redd uncovers a dark global conspiracy with his hometown at the center and no team at his back—except one he might find among past friends, old enemies, and new allies, if he can figure out who to trust.
Still My Forever by Kim Vogel Sawyer (WaterBrook, $17 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-593-19436-2). Gilbert Baty returns to Kansas after failing to launch a career as a composer in New York City, but when his new music project takes off, he’ll have to decide if it’s worth leaving behind the woman he loves.
Sept. 13
Venus Sings the Blues by Buck Storm (Kregel, $16.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-8254-4687-0). Fifteen-year-old Bones feels stuck in his job at the Venus Motel until a charismatic biker checks in, shaking things up with his otherworldly presence and magical box capable of making anything disappear.
Sept. 27
Christmas at the Ranch by Anita Hughes (Griffin, $16.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-250-81858-4). Spy novel author Samantha Morgan falls for a man she later discovers to be her publisher’s son while visiting Jackson Hole, Wyo.
Dead Sea Conspiracy by Jerry B. Jenkins (Worthy, $25, ISBN 978-1-5460-1422-5). After an archaeologist makes a game-changing discovery, she must combat a nefarious enemy to bring her findings to light in the second entry in Jenkins’s Dead Sea Chronicles series.
The Amish Matchmaker by Amy Lillard (Zebra, $8.99, ISBN 978-1-4201-5176-3). Astrid Kauffman, an Amish romance novelist, offers to help Imogene, a widowed mother, find a new husband, but problems arise after Astrid falls in love with the suitor she found for Imogene.
