Tag: books

Spirituality, Writing

Jeff Crosby

Christine Eberle

Part of the Thankful Thursday Series

Beginnings are fascinating. Without Jeff Crosby’s introduction, I would not have found Paraclete Press. But the early threads of our connection could have been dropped without either of us noticing.

After Finding God in Ordinary Time came out in 2018, it was selected as a finalist for the Foreword Indies book awards. Jeff—who at the time was Publisher/CEO of InterVarsity Press—bought my book on the strength of its description in the magazine. Then he did two rare and wonderful things: he 1) wrote beautiful reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, and 2) dropped me a note to let me know. (Book lovers: embrace this practice!)

Jeff Crosby and the cover is his book

By the time Finding God Abiding entered the world in 2022, Jeff was serving as president and CEO of ECPA, a trade association of Christian publishers, and working on his own book, The Language of the Soul: Meeting God in the Longings of Our Hearts. I was honored to serve as one of his early readers, and included the book in my 2023 “Books I Love by People I Love.”

In that post, I wrote, “In this cozy book, Jeff explores the concept of saudade—a ‘vague and constant desire for something that does not and possibly cannot exist.’ He muses through ten longings, adding resources for further reading as well as a musical playlist to accompany each one. Gift this to any spiritually minded person who likes to read with pencil in hand.” (As a bonus: now you can download a beautiful, 32-page conversation guide and journal for Jeff’s book on the Broadleaf website.)

Jeff explores the concept of saudade—a ‘vague and constant desire for something that does not and possibly cannot exist.’

When I finished the first draft of Finding God Along the Way last year, Jeff was one of the first people I sent it to for thoughtful feedback, which he provided—then offered to help me find a publisher, should I need assistance. (Here’s where I should point out that Jeff and I have never met in person or even spoken on the phone.  Ours is an entirely epistolary friendship—so old fashioned!)

After several months of fruitless attempts to connect with publishers or agents, I turned to Jeff for advice. He sent me three ideas, of which Paraclete was clearly the strongest, but their website said they weren’t accepting unsolicited manuscripts. Jeff kindly shared my pitch with an editor friend on a Friday afternoon; by Monday morning, she’d asked to see the whole manuscript. Many editorial and marketing team meetings and a lot of discernment ensued, and now I’m part of the Paraclete Press family.  (As is Jeff, by the way; next year they are publishing his new book, World of Wonders: Reading as a Spiritual Discipline. I can’t wait to read it!)

Here’s Jeff’s kind endorsement: A three-cord strand of wonder awaits you in Finding God Along the Way, an inviting book that artfully weaves together Christine Marie Eberle’s pilgrimage along the Ignatian Camino in Spain with history of Ignatius of Loyola and the author’s own deep reflection on what she experienced and learned about herself—and her God—as she made her way. The scriptures she shares and the prompts for our own reflection as readers are icing on the cake. Whether or not you have shared the experience of pilgrimage, you will find much to savor in this book from one who has.

For our mutual delight in seeking just-the-right words to express the ineffable, I am truly grateful.

Spirituality, Writing

Elizabeth Grace Matthew

Christine Eberle

Part of the Thankful Thursday Series

“Great stories are all the same beneath the splendid array of differences that makes each one unique. The answers (whom to kill, whom to marry, how to cope) are specific to the place, the time, the characters, and the circumstances. But the questions (Who am I? What is my life about? What is my legacy?) that necessitate those answers are universal to the human condition.”

For years, I’ve been quoting this snippet from Elizabeth Grace Matthew during my retreat / keynote called “The Stories that Form Us”—explaining that I encountered it in an America magazine review of the Sex and the City reboot, of all things.  After encouraging people to brainstorm their favorite childhood books or current television series on streaming loops, I ask, “What questions—universal to the human condition—do they address?”

Elizabeth Grace Matthew

A few years ago, at a grade-school faculty retreat not far from my home, a teacher rushed up to me after the session. “Liz Matthew is a friend of mine! Do you want to meet her? I think you’d really like each other!”

It had never occurred to me that a writer I’d read in the Jesuit Review (note reverent tone) would be a mom who lived one town over from me—friendly and funny and fond of our local coffee shop. We met there and hit it off at once, chatting about writing and editing and creative-life balance, right to the outer limit of her childcare.

Several times since then, I’ve found myself sufficiently struck by the quality of writing in an America article to flip back to the beginning and see who wrote it, only to discover Liz’s name again.  (You can check out her articles here.) In addition to writing for many other publications, this mother of four boys is busy working on a book about Little Women and feminism. Sign me up!

It had never occurred to me that a writer I’d read in the Jesuit Review would be a mom who lived one town over from me—friendly and funny and fond of our local coffee shop.

While juggling all that, she made time to read my manuscript and had this to say:  “With humor and insight, Christine Eberle invites us to tag along from afar on her Ignatian Camino. At first glance, this is a book about how extraordinary circumstances super-charged one woman’s spiritual growth. Dig deeper, and it’s really about how ordinary life can also reveal our own opportunities to grow with God. Eberle gives us the context and the questions to better understand our own journeys, and where to look for those opportunities, through the evocative lens of Ignatian spirituality.”

For the serendipity that precedes the exclamation “How have we never met?” and the delight of discussing shared passions, I am truly thankful!