Finding Home

Julie K. Aageson, author of Finding Home, drew me in right from the introduction: “When my children were growing up, we often talked with them about how important it is to be ‘at home’ in many different places.” Isn’t that what most of us crave — finding home or finding a home?

I believe this book is suited for study, either in a group or individually. Some will find reading the entire book and reflecting on the questions at the end of each chapter comforting and, at times, challenging. For others, especially if you are doing this as a group, then picking and choosing which of the 26 chapters work for you or your group might be a better choice. The chapters range from; “A Story of Adoption”, “Refugees Looking for Home” to “Politics? Bring it On…!” There is a lot to choose from.

The chapter on politics offers a way to discuss the different ways we can believe, in all aspects of our lives, without getting angry. The reflection questions at the end of this chapter are exceptionally provocative. “What is your experience of the interrelatedness of faith, politics, and religious commitments?” is one of the questions to consider.

And if you do pick and choose chapters to read, I would suggest including the introduction and epilogue. The author closes her book noting the scary times we are living in during a pandemic. And yet, along with her hope of connection and finding home, “What may be clearest to us in this perilous moment is our interconnectedness, the fact that we share a common home with all of humanity.” Even when this pandemic ends, we will hopefully still find that connectivity with each other.

A PDF review copy of this book was provided by the publisher, Cascade Books, an Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers.