Free Downloads How's Your Faith?: An Unlikely Spiritual Journey
In this “thoughtful, introspective, and moving account” (The Washington Post), former NBC news anchor David Gregory probes various religious traditions to better understand his own faith and answer important questions about who we want to be and what we believe.When David Gregory was a reporter covering the White House, President George W. Bush asked him a question: “Gregory, how’s your faith?” Raised by a Catholic mother and a Jewish dad, David had a strong sense of Jewish cultural and ethnic identity, but no real belief—until his marriage to a Protestant woman of strong faith inspired him to explore his spirituality for himself and his growing family. His spiritual journey has taken him inside Christian mega-churches and into the world of Orthodox Judaism. He’s gone deep into Bible study and asked big questions of America’s most thoughtful religious leaders, including evangelical preacher Joel Osteen; Mohamed Magid, the imam of a big northern Virginia mosque; and Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Catholic Archbishop of New York. He has even reconsidered his own childhood, where a belief in God might have helped him through his mother’s struggle with alcoholism. How’s Your Faith? is “an unusual, probing book, part memoir, part cri de coeur, part exploration” (The Boston Globe). David explores spirituality with the curiosity and dedication you would expect from a seasoned journalist, coupled with the “genuine and deeply felt” (The Wall Street Journal) yearning of a true seeker of faith.
Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster (September 13, 2016)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1451651619
ISBN-13: 978-1451651614
Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.7 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (77 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #32,482 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #150 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Essays & Correspondence > Essays #197 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Leaders & Notable People > Religious #225 in Books > Self-Help > Spiritual
David Gregory has written a beautiful book about the most important challenge of our time: finding faith that makes sense, that inspires, that transforms our little lives into experiences of God's big and unbounded love. To read this book is to seek that faith in your own life and more, to feel the steady guidance of David as a friend and role model in the search. What a gift!
I was actually surprised that I read this entire book in one sitting, as a) I'm not great at sticking with non-fiction, and b) religion was the topic. The title sucked me in - made me want to pick it up and see what it was about. The author's writing style was very accessible and engaging, and I enjoyed the different stories he presented, especially of his islamic friend and his struggles with what his faith means to him.However, the real story I felt that was untold is the meat of his own household with a Jewish dad, Methodist mom, and Jewish kids. He touches on it briefly throughout the book, and its clear that there are some pretty big issues with melding these two together when it comes to religion. I could get a real sense of the sacrifice his wife made when they made the choice, together, to raise their children jewish. I also don't think he fully understood that sacrifice. He writes that he does, but his writing also gives him away, and that he truly doesn't. I'd love to have seen a couple of chapters included in this story from her perspective.I've recommended it to some friends, which I don't do with a lot of books, so I'll recommend it to you as well. It's not earth shattering, it's not going to answer all your questions, but ultimately we learn and grow from hearing other people's stories - taking what we like and applying it and walking away from what we don't like. There were some stories worth reading in this one.
The book reminds me of the ex-presidential candidate that media pundits say "if they had spoken like that before they dropped out of the race they could have won." Without a spotlight on him now, David Gregory provides an honest and revealing behind the curtain story about his life journey and his search for the meaning of faith for him and his family. Definitely worth the read as it will make you like the guy that had to replace Tim Russert. As he implies in the book, he definitely would have been better off as the successor to the guy that was the successor of Tim Russert.
I am thoroughly enjoying this update on David Gregory since he has dropped out of the public eye. This topic isn't what I would have expected from a national news anchor, but that makes it all the more appealing. This appears to be an honest, sometimes painful, sometimes uplifting accounting of a personal setback that led to a deeper faith. I loved the fact that he sought from many different faiths to strengthen his own faith journey and dug deeply.
I am not a fan of either Meet the Press as a program or David Gregory as a journalist. For the first fifty pages or so, I thought I would be giving this book one star, though as I read it, I was convinced that he has many good insights and has shared more about his inner feelings than most people would be willing to do, especially for a public figure. I took this book out of the library after seeing the interview of Mr. Gregory on C-Span about the book. I did not care for the interview and I do not think the person discussing the book with him had a deep understanding of the issues of this book. I would be curious how Mr. Gregory feels about the C-SPAN program. The book is not only about his spiritual journey, however it is very much an autobiography and one of the critical reviews seem to think the author is full of himself. Probably Mr. Gregory will be remembered for the Joe Biden interview in which the Vice President came out for same sex marriage, and Mr. Gregory does discuss this episode in this book. This is a book of the author searching for a meaningful life in the context of a somewhat confused life plan in which his wife would remain a Methodist and he would remain Jewish, and their children would be raised Jewish. I was curious about the story, because I know of many interfaith marriages, though most couples typically do not take this approach. The complications they ran into, for whatever reason, they did not anticipate even though the plan seemed to be problematic from the start. During their courtship, Mr. Gregory took his (future) wife to the synagogue for the first time, and the sermon was the Rabbi's opposition to interfaith marriages by Jews. This in a sense was a harbinger and in a way, the book is about this couple's overcoming theological obstacles. Fortunately, in the Washington, DC area, there are probably many interfaith marriages and the Gregorys have been able to find a welcoming synagogue. I cannot help but question why the couple settled on this awkward arrangement, though it may be that that was the only way to move forward with their relationship. Some readers may criticize me for this previous sentence, however I believe this thought is going through more individuals than myself. Again, I know many mixed marriages and usually the parents decide on one religion for the entire family, or the children are raised the religion of the mother. Another scenario is that one of the parents is agnostic or more secular than is the case with the Gregorys. It is important and I think laudable to point out, that Mr. Gregory reached out to Christian clergy persons to help him on his spiritual journey, and does attend church with his wife (not sure if this is rare or common that Mr. Gregory does this, though I doubt frequently). This is a book about friendship, love, parenting, marriage, life's disappointments, family communication, and more. This is a book about being a husband, a son, a parent, and how to manage all of that in the setting of David's alcoholic mother, David's somewhat secular and overbearing father, and a wife who I believe has on some level, has mixed feelings about the whole arrangement. I view all of these issues as theological in nature. The book is not an easy read because it handles difficult issues. In some ways, it is generous of Mr. Gregory to share his privacy with us. Many would not even share these innermost thoughts with friends and family, let alone the world. I took this book out of the library, so this review is not a "verified purchase." I would say this book would be a good purchase for a book club for a church or synagogue. I would also recommend this book for an interfaith couple who is thinking of getting married, especially if both individuals are inclined to continue their respective faith traditions. Two final thoughts; I can't help but wonder what his wife thinks about this book and if her version of their life would be much different. Also, I would welcome Mr. or Mrs. Gregory's response to this and other reviewers.
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