A Prodigal’s Return, 2nd ed.
Spiritual/Religious
Date Published: March 11, 2020
STUMBLING TOWARD GOD traces a woman’s spiritual search with an unusual twist – from an “atheist who prays” to unorthodox membership in two contrasting churches: Unitarian and Episcopal. In the second edition of her forthright memoir, McGee shares new adventures on her spiritual quest, culminating in personal encounters with a God of love. An honest, satisfying read for anyone questioning or seeking a spiritual path. First Place for Nonfiction Book in the PNWA Literary Competition. Includes Reading Group Guide.
"An offbeat, engagingly written, appealingly uncertain spiritual memoir." – Publishers Weekly
Interview
What was your main drive to write this book?
The first
bits of STUMBLING TOWARD GOD were written in response to unexpected turns in my
inner life. The earliest words came in the form of a prayer. The prayer was unexpected
because at the time I saw myself as an atheist, so what the heck was I doing in
prayer? Yet writing the prayer helped me in a bad situation. Here it is:
Dear God, sustain me in my hour of need.
Stay with me; be my friend.
When I misstep, light my path.
When I hurt, comfort me.
Help me see that I’m not the only one in
pain.
Give me the strength to accept myself for
what I am.
Amen.
I was
struggling with yucky professional politics, at the end of my rope, when
suddenly those words just dropped into my mind and out of my pen. Then I felt
better and was better able to deal with the situation. It was confounding. I wanted
to understand what it meant, so I wrote about it. That’s how I figure things
out, by writing about them. Only later, much later, did a series of pieces
about the changes going on in my spiritual life start to coalesce into a book.
What do you hope readers will learn by reading this book?
That
they are free to choose their own path, and that help may come to them from
unexpected places. I didn’t expect to be helped by organized religion, and yet,
after bouncing around a bit, I found help in a small church in my home town.
Did you do much research when planning this book?
The
early stages of Stumbling Toward God came from what was happening in my life at the time, along with
memories of the path that led me there. So no, I didn’t do much research in the
planning stage. But I did quite a bit of research during the writing. I
interviewed my parents about how they got together to form a family, and also researched
the history of church doctrine and theology, along with various interpretations
of seminal texts from scripture.
Did you have any main people who helped you in the process
of this book or influenced you to write it?
I’m
tempted to say, “Yes, every teacher I’ ever had, every friend, every enemy,
every member of my family … Gee, everyone I’ve ever met or passed in the street!”
But that’s not very helpful, is it? I was surprised in the writing of this book
to find that a middle school Science teacher, the rector of a small Episcopal
parish, a scruffy young jerk in a pickup truck, a former boss who laid me off,
and others I barely registered at the time had such a profound effect on the
way I saw the world outside and inside myself. Every day, we encounter angels,
unaware.
How long did this book take you to write from initial
thought to hitting publish?
The
book was written over many years. I wrote that initial prayer sometime in the
mid 1980’s. The first edition of the finished book came out in 2002. Then over
the following 15 years, I wrote separate posts for my web site that eventually came
together in the Prelude and Postlude to the second edition, bringing the story
up to date. The second edition has just been published. So, how long did it
take? Thirty-five years? Yikes! And it’s such a slim volume.
Do you have plans to write more about this topic or new
topics?
As
long as I’m alive, I expect to have unexpected encounters the mystery of life,
and I’ll probably try to figure it out by writing about it. But I don’t make
plans along those lines. The topics that interest me right now involve how
communities fall apart, how they come together, and how they can be built to
last. As we emerge out of this pandemic, I think local communities will matter
more than ever. I have plans for some short pieces on community building that may come together in a
book someday.
About the Author
Margaret D. McGee writes books about being alive in the cosmos, paying attention, and making connections. Her parents were both preacher’s kids, and her father pursued a successful career in public education. These two themes—applied faith and applied intellect—returned in her middle years when she joined the Episcopal parish and Unitarian Universalist fellowship in her small town. She says, “Going back and forth, week on, week off, between the “prayer-book” Episcopalians and the free-thinking
Unitarians provided an essential bridge in my spiritual path—a bridge that led me to a new place.” McGee has had a varied career, including a time at the Microsoft Corporation, where she was employed as a master writer. She now lives in the Olympic Peninsula with her husband, David. In addition to Stumbling Toward God, her books include Sacred Attention and Haiku – The Sacred Art, both published by Skylight Paths Publishing. Her liturgical prayers and skits have been used by faith communities across the United States, and can be found at her website, InTheCourtyard.com.
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3 Comments
Thanks, My Reading Addiction, for hosting. Your interview questions made me think, and I enjoyed responding.
ReplyDeleteThank you for hosting!
ReplyDeleteWhen you have many readers in your family, it's always great to hear about a book you think they will enjoy. Thanks for sharing!
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