Hope A user's manual

Perhaps readers have heard that hope, wrote Emily Dickinson, is "the thing with feathers." Pastor and coach Dana adds to that notion with this very thoughtful dissection of hope via passages organized by its defining dimensions: how hope can enlighten, how hope and storytelling intersect, brilliant examples of what hope is not, practices of hope, how hope lives in the body, and what, exactly, hope is. Any one of Dana's short mantras on hope could become a personal beacon. Thinking of how determination aids and abets our journeys. Evaluating the ways in which beauty, relationships, and action structure hope. Getting through events that we just have to get through, in which a pattern of perseverance, reset, repeat enables the goal. Intertwined with some of her good words, she also incorporates snippets from other writers of wisdom, from ancient to modern. These are narrative poems to hold and to remember.

"How do we cultivate hope to face each day, even when our efforts don't bear fruit?" asks pastor McKibben Dana (Sabbath in the Suburbs) in this fitfully sage outing. She uses personal anecdotes, biblical analysis, and pop culture references to lay out a faith-centric vision of hope and offers practices to cultivate it. Reflecting on how narratives shape hope, McKibben Dana breaks down the plots of the films Superman and The Avengers to explore how stories either end with a return to the status quo or with the world "forever changed," though she frustratingly neglects to spell out how these observations relate to hope. More usefully, the author encourages readers to keep their spirits up by breaking big problems into "small, bite-sized pieces that slowly but surely move us forward." To illustrate, she recounts when she and other members of the Presbyterian general assembly posted bail for 36 people who could not otherwise afford it, effecting local change even as bail reform remained out of reach. Reflection questions urge readers to consider "when the going gets tough, where do you put your focus?" and to "react to the idea of hope and despair dwelling together." While the author's tendency to hint at rather than state her takeaways can be irksome, such wisdom as "hope is what we do in the face of suffering, pain, and injustice" connects. Readers will appreciate the depth of thought. (Sept.)

In her latest book, pastor Dana (God, Improv, and the Art of Living; Sabbath in the Suburbs) challenges readers to exercise hope in this anxious era. She proposes that hope is neither certainty about the future nor a warm feeling; it's a practiced orientation grounded in the stories people tell and live out in their bodies. Filled with personal anecdotes and a diverse set of conversation partners, this book seeks to be honest about the world's challenges (climate change, racism, gun violence, etc.) without giving into despair or nihilism. The author succeeds in doing so by not pitting hope against rage, lamentation, and doubt. Anger is the appropriate response to injustice, but anger needs the orientation of hope--which says the world could be better--in order to strive for justice. The book's chapters are satisfyingly short, able to be read in any order, and include practical exercises. VERDICT Written for believers of faith and non-believers too (Dana is careful not to distinguish between the two), this book is recommended for readers wanting a sympathetic voice to guide them through these confusing and isolating times.--Andy Lofthus