LM Penner is a lapsed Protestant. (Is that even a thing?) For better or worse, though, her thoughts on faith are informed by her Christian upbringing, and this book of creative non-fiction essays reflects that fact. Although no longer a church attendee (you'll find her reasons inside this book), her faith in God remains. How the divine reveals itself in her life and what walking out her faith looks like now, in 2024, is hugely different than it was pre-2016. Because she knows she is not the only one who feels this way, LM Penner wrote this book and is sharing her thoughts about living a spiritual life with you. The essays in this book discuss heavy topics like suicide, controversial topics like the current status of the evangelical church, the surprisingly deep topic of Christmas carols, and inspirational topics like the spirituality of trees, of finding your destiny, of aging, and of birds. Plus more. If you find yourself disillusioned by the common practices of your faith or the traumas of your life, the stories inside this book will encourage and uplift you. If you find yourself all alone but still wanting to feel the presence of the divine in your life, you will recognize some of the feelings expressed inside this book. And if you no longer find your spiritual home inside the walls of a church, but still long to feel the divine and live a spiritual life, then you will find comfort and hope inside the pages of this book. Beer Drinking God Talking Girl starts with a death, and it ends with forgiveness -- not unlike the Christian tradition, itself. Perhaps LM Penner is not such a lapsed believer, after all. How about you?
