Thursday, June 28, 2012

Book Review: Faith and Other Flat Tires by Andrea Palpant Dilley


Faith and Other Flat Tires is a book by a bright, introspective woman who finds problems with religion in everything. An Eric Clapton concert is as likely to raise tough theological questions as does having to bury a childhood friend. Dilley's memoirs outline how she grew up a missionary kid and then became a 'melancholy Christian' before leaving the church. She eventually found that the same questions that drove her away from God ended up driving her back to faith once again. She returns to God hesitantly, with battle wounds and hope and also - get this - without all the answers.

Even though a memoir, the author offers a very honest portrayal of who she is and how her life experiences shaped both her faith and her doubts.  Dilley doesn't paint herself as a victim or a saint. She's awkward at times, painfully aware of her flaws and she bravely lays her selfish moments and bad choices along with her honesty and courage. It is a tale of how a person can lose faith ; how even the seemingly 'good' kids can find themselves stomping out of the church and slamming the doors behind them (literally) because their questions are not being answered.I think a lot of us who are raised in Christian homes undergo a falling away from the church or even from faith and although Dilley's specific experiences might differ, her memoir is one which is easy to relate to. For those who are seeking for Truth about  their faith and Christ yet feel like they're out of place among the church potluck crowd, this book will come as a welcome read.


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