Reviews for Reluctant Pilgrim: A Moody, Somewhat Self-Indulgent Introvert's Search for Spiritual Community

The average rating for Reluctant Pilgrim: A Moody, Somewhat Self-Indulgent Introvert's Search for Spiritual Community based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2010-10-22 00:00:00 Michael Bartosh As a preface to this review, I need to explain why I read books about religion: because I'm not religious, I really wonder why other people are, and what it is about religion that attracts so many people from so many cultures. Plus, as a cultural study, I'm interested in how people's religious beliefs impacts their view of the world and their actions. Now, on to the book itself: the author states that she never once has questioned her belief in God and Jesus. So, she's completely, 100% Christian, but this book follows her internal journey over the years of trying to find out what kind of Christian she is. This is in both the philosophical sense and the denominational sense. By the end of the book I think she finds peace and acceptance, but along the way God only seems to make her life worse. She feel guilty because she really, really doesn't want to help poor people or give up her materialism; she periodically believes God is calling her to make major life changes (be a nun, quit her job, remain forever single) that she doesn't want to do and scare her half to death; she gets mad because God never answers her prayers, then guilty that she's too shallow to just accept it. Her God seems to be very demanding, and not very giving. Throughout she avoids taking full responsibility for her own life and her own choices, because she keeps waiting for God to reveal his plan for her. So, overall I appreciate the author's candor in talking about her doubts and neuroses, and for implying (not exactly stated exactly this way) that someone can be a good Christian without being a really good person; it's an aspect of religious belief that's not often acknowledged.

Review # 2 was written on 2013-05-14 00:00:00 Jeffrey Santoro This book snuck up on me and packed a very powerful punch. It was slow-going at first. I sensed resistance within myself to reading it because Ms. Okoro in her staunch introversion reminded me all too clearly of the flaws I see daily in my introverted self: at the outset it was indulgent, self-absorbed, self-pitying and whiny. Okoro captures the loneliness and estrangement of never quite "fitting in" anywhere, yet admirably seeks out Christian community despite her strong inclinations to avoid it altogether. Okoro is up-front about her doubts and misgivings about God, and her struggle with perceiving following Christ as all suffering and all self-denial and little to no reward. I can relate to that. And yet, as she draws near to other strong female Christians, there's a shift in tone as together, Okoro and these women discover the power of hope in the midst of their (sometimes intensely) troubled and challenging lives. Okoro brings the heart. Her candor and vulnerability make this memoir an undoubtedly satisfying read, and will leave you wondering and questioning--in the best of ways.