Always a Guest | Amazon / Barnes & Noble | Westminster John Knox Press
“What I value most about speaking of faith far from home is that I have to travel light. I don't know my hosts well. There are so many ways of being Christian that I don't even know for sure how the worship service will go. I certainly don't know who the pillars of the church are, or the troublemakers, or what kind of a week they have all had. I don't know what turns a stranger's speech into a sermon for them. I don't know what they depend on it to do. All of these uncertainties unpack my bags until there are only a few things left: a sacred text, a trust in the Spirit, an experience of being human, and the desire to bear good news." from the Introduction
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Starred review from Library Journal
Holy Envy | View on Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Download Study Guide
“Part of my ongoing priesthood is to find the bridge between my faith and the faiths of other people, so that those of us who draw water from wells on different sides of the river can still get together from time to time, making the whole area safer for our children,” says Taylor, an acclaimed pastor, educator, and author. While comparative religion’s founding educator, Huston Smith, taught by conveying his world travels, Taylor, who approaches world religion as both teacher and explorer, reaches her students with experiential field trips to places of worship closer to home. She nudges them away from spiritual appropriation and comparison, moving them instead toward challenging discernment of their faith and the faith of others. Progressive and inclusive Christians and nonbelievers who are sensitive to a multifaith, inclusive America will appreciate this, especially so for those who’ve followed Taylor’s own faith journey. Highly recommended. - Booklist starred review
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2020 Georgia Author of the Year, 2019 Golden Nautilus Award, New York Times bestseller, One of Library Journal’s Best Religion & Spirituality Books 2019, Books All Georgians Should Read 2019, BookPal Outstanding Works of Literature Award 2019
Learning to Walk in the Dark | View on Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Download Study Guide
On the cover of Taylor’s well-wrought guidebook, the light of the moon gives trees slim shadows, poppies bleed on the ground, and an owl gazes, as the book’s title laces itself among the trees. Taylor (An Altar in the World) observes these moonlit elements well: “I have learned things in the dark that I could never have learned in the light...,” she writes. Ever the teacher, she passes on her knowledge, whether purposefully studied or accidentally absorbed, of living with loss. Among these lunar lessons are antipathy to “full solar spirituality,” that is, seeing God as light alone, leaving dark to the devil; and sympathy toward the ever-changing moon (imagined as a Sabbath bride, she mirrors the soul better than does the steady sun). Taylor considers “endarkenment,” light bulbs, blotted stars, and Our Lady of the Underground beneath Chartres Cathedral." -Publisher's Weekly starred review
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New York Times bestseller, one of Publishers Weekly Best Religion Books of 2014, 2015 Living Now Book Award, Illumination Book Awards Gold Medal Winner 2016
An Altar in the World | View on Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Download Study Guide
"Author of an acclaimed memoir (Leaving Church) and a gifted preacher, Taylor is one of those rare people who truly can see the holy in everything. Since everyone should know such a person, those who don't can—no, must—read this book, with its friendly reminders of everyday sacred. Taylor's 12 chapters mine the potentially sacred meaning of simple daily activities and conditions, like walking, paying attention, saying no to work one Sabbath day each week. Hanging laundry is setting up a prayer flag, for God's sake. Since Taylor, an Episcopal priest, no longer pastors a church, she can "do church" everywhere: in line at the grocery store interacting with the cashier, walking a moonlit path with her husband. Her candor is another of the book's virtues: she is a failure at prayer, and cannot explain why or how it is, or isn't, answered ("I do not know any way to talk about answered prayer without sounding like a huckster or a honeymooner"). Savor this book." -Publisher's Weekly starred review
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New York Times bestseller, 2010 Silver Nautilus Award, Church & Synagogue Library Association’s Best Book of the Year 2010
Leaving Church | View on Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Download Study Guide
"Eat this book. And you will be satisfied. Here is a story of a life told with the clarity, beauty and honesty of a mountain stream. Barbara Brown Taylor describes doubt, faith, and vocation, their limits, and how the church both blesses and muddies the waters. Those who attend church, those who do not, and everyone in between will find here a feast, and the satisfaction of an eloquent voice speaking the truth." - Nora Gallagher, author of Practicing Resurrection
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2006 Georgia Author of the Year for Nonfiction, 2006 Theologos Best General Interest Book
Home by Another Way | View on Amazon
This enchanting Christmas story follows the three wise men on their world-changing journey to Bethlehem. In her retelling of their adventure, Taylor captures the power of one very special star and gives readers a new perspective on the three wise men and their encounters with King Herod, Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus. Home by Another Way: A Christmas Story features breathtaking artwork from illustrator Melanie Cataldo and is perfect for gift-giving. Ideal for children ages 8-10.
Home By Another Way | View on Amazon
"Sermons have been thought of as an art form for a very long time, but rarely have they been pure storytelling. Stories have embellished sermons for a variety of reasons and in this way have served to edify, inform, and inspire. Professor/priest Barbara Brown Taylor has elevated the pure story form and given it a new place in the pulpit. And she does it with the skills required of storytellers. ...One would hope that this book will start a revolution in homiletics." Christianity and the Arts
When God Is Silent | View on Amazon
"This book should not be left to preachers alone; it is a handbook for those who hear the whisper of God and want to listen. It is a book about the fragility of our words and the depth of God's silence – and it is ultimately a book about the music that results from the crashing of our words against that silence of God to carry on its very failure some of the song of God's own music." Bruce Jenneker, Cowley
Collaborations
Anchored in the Current | View on WJK Books
Howard Thurman was famously known as one of the towering giants of American religion in the twentieth century. He was a mystic, a preacher, an educator, a theologian, and much more. It is impossible to understand the African American church today without an appreciation for his contributions. And yet, while Thurman's name is often recognized, his seminal ideas have not received the attention they deserve. In this volume, internationally known leaders like Marian Wright Edelman, Parker Palmer, and Barbara Brown Taylor invite the reader into creative engagement with Thurman’s writings. Anchored in the Current illuminates how Thurman’s life and wisdom lead these influential names on the ancient quest to connect with the Ultimate, all while discovering the contemporary need to seek racial justice and sharpening the minds and faith of those who come after us.
A Rhythm of Prayer | Forthcoming 2021
For the weary, the angry, the anxious, and the hopeful, this collection of moving, tender prayers offers rest, joyful resistance, and a call to act, written by Barbara Brown Taylor, Amena Brown, Nadia Bolz-Weber, and other artists and thinkers, curated by the author Glennon Doyle calls “my favorite faith writer.” Each prayer is an original piece of writing, with new essays by Sarah Bessey throughout.
