A review by emmavani
In the Shelter: Finding a Home in the World by Pádraig Ó Tuama

5.0

I fell in love with Padraig O Tuama on Krista Tippett's "On Being" podcast, her interview with him is my most listened to episode of any podcast. His voice, both written and spoken, is like a salve for the soul. It's a hard book to sell people on (what is it about, northern ireland? conflict resolution? faith? being gay in the church? analysis of Tolkein?) Another reason it's hard to label is that Tuama is clearly a christian, but he writes about faith and God in a way that is loving but sometimes doubtful sometimes frustrated and fundamentally universalist. I think it is a hard sell for passionate atheists and fundamentalist christians alike. Unlike most christian fundamentalists, he believes in the life we have on Earth as more important than any afterlife we might get. This made it a perfect book for an "agnostic-but-spiritual" like me.

I don't know what else to say about this book other than that this will not be the last time I read it.