Description: "The author critiques restrictive notions of normalcy and embraces alternative virtues that promote human flourishing; she invites readers to move from certainty to curiosity, from comfort to courage, from productivity to presence, from artifice to authenticity, from blandness to beauty, and from competition to community"-- Provided by publisher.
Brief description:
MaryAnn McKibben Dana is the author of Hope: A User's Manual; God, Improv, and the Art of Living; Sabbath in the Suburbs; and Better Than Normal: Virtues for an Off-Script Life. She also writes a weekly newsletter called The Blue Room. She was featured on PBS's Religion and Ethics Newsweekly for her work on Sabbath and was recognized by the Presbyterian Writers Guild with their Distinguished Writer Award. She currently serves as associate pastor at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Herndon, Virginia.
Review Quotes:
"Better Than Normal is a liberating, loving, and deeply prophetic book. MaryAnn McKibben Dana invites us to lay down the myth of 'normal' that has harmed so many for so long, and instead to imagine communities where every person's dignity is honored and every life can flourish. Echoing Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s proclamation that he was 'proud to be maladjusted' to injustice and conformity, McKibben Dana names the forces that confine us and offers a powerful vision of abundance, authenticity, and collective liberation. This book is a gift for anyone committed to justice, to beloved community, and to building a world where all of us--not just a narrow few--can thrive."
--Liz Theoharis, editor of We Cry Justice: Reading the Bible with the Poor People's Campaign and coeditor of We Pray Freedom: Liturgies and Rituals from the Freedom Church of the Poor
"In Better Than Normal, MaryAnn McKibben Dana meets us as a compassionate parent, a courageous pastor, and a clear-sighted person of faith urging us toward meaningful, spiritual, and sustainable lives."
--Eileen Campbell-Reed, author of Pastoral Imagination: Bringing the Practice of Ministry to Life
"In a time when our world urgently needs more imaginative, transformative thinkers, MaryAnn McKibben Dana affirms what the deep wisdom within us has said all along: There is no 'normal.' Grounded in courageous love and lived experience, Better Than Normal offers us the true values needed for flourishing and the freedom to live them. This profoundly insightful and liberating book felt like the strongest hug, wrapping arms around me while looking me in the eye, saying, 'You are exactly who you are meant to be.'"
--Arianne Braithwaite Lehn, author of Ash and Starlight: Prayers for the Chaos and Grace of Daily Life
"My endorsement of Maryann McKibben Dana is simple and not one I offer lightly: I trust her. Better Than Normal is written with both vulnerability and restraint, a rare combination. It does not rush to explain or exploit but instead walks compassionately alongside the reader. This book is for anyone who wishes to broaden their definition of 'normal.' I will be recommending it widely."
--Traci Smith, author of the Faithful Families series