The books from Eugene Peterson were always interesting to me. As for this one I don’t like as much as the others. I don’t like autobiographies. I think that autobiographies never bring all the actual facts. This book in particular I liked, but had the feeling that it was more a junction of separated stories joined together selectively to please the author. I am not saying that this is not a real story, it is just not the whole story. We can feel the breaks between the parts. But it is still a nice book to read! This was a really unusual book for me to read, possibly my first (or one of my first) autobiographies. There were some chapters that resonated so deeply with me and felt like he was articulating what I had been thinking or feeling for years, but I didn't have the ability to communicate, I would say "Amen, Amen" to myself as I read and I would be highlighting nearly every sentence. But then the very next chapter would be such a dud that I couldn't even finish it, and would have to take a break in order to work up the will to plow through it. I suppose that's the nature of autobiographies (or biographies) It is the reflection of a person, warts at all, idiosyncrasies and inconsistencies galore. I read this book as part of a book club and it rarely failed to produce some spirited discussion amongst us though, so I was glad that I read it.
What do You think about The Pastor: A Memoir (2011)?
Excellent reflections on what it means to be a pastor, and why one should be proud to be one.
—Rinushan
