WWW.PUBLISHERSWEEKLY.COM 59Review_NONFICTION
and to take antiracist action. Woven
throughout is the author’s personal story
of growing up white in a Southern Baptist
community in Jackson, Miss., his journey
toward a fuller understanding of his
family and faith history in relation to
racism, and his efforts to chart a more
just path forward. Only with honest
assessment, followed by deliberate indi-
vidual and collective reparative justice
work, Jones argues, can white Christian
Americans do the necessary work of
addressing structural racism within their
faith and nation. Jones’s introspective,
measured study is a revelatory unpacking
of influence and history of white Christian
nationalism. (June)
★ Tabernacles of Clay:
Sexuality and Gender in Modern
Mormonism
Taylor G. Petrey. Univ. of North Carolina,
$29.95 trade paper (296p) ISBN 978-1-4696-
5622-9
Petrey, a professor of religion at
Kalamazoo College, combines meticulous
research with illuminating insight in this
landmark work on gender and sexuality
in Mormon thought. Petrey shows how
Latter-day Saint teachings about race,
marriage, homosexuality, and gender
roles have adapted to different social
contexts between post-WWII America
and today, and argues that opposition to
same-sex marriage has replaced opposition
to interracial marriage or egalitarian
marriage as a lightning rod for LDS
leaders. He also examines contradictions
in LDS ideologies—such as church
leaders explicitly teaching that gender
roles are inherent, while also fretting
about parents not properly teaching their
children how to “perform” their gender
role properly. Information-packed, with a
forceful thesis and jargon-free prose, this
is an important
contribution to
Mormon studies
as well as a
convincing
consideration
of the ways reli-
gions construct
and maintain
frameworks.
Any academic
studying the
intersection of religious practice and
progressive social change will want to
take a look. (June)Not All Who Wander (Spiritually)
Are Lost: A Story of Church
Traci Rhoades. Church, $14.99 trade paper
(152p) ISBN 978-1-64065-279-8
Bible teacher Rhoades debuts with a
consuming chronicle of her churchgoing
life, spanning four different denomina-
tions and nine churches. Beginning with
fond memories of attending Southern
Baptist and Methodist churches during
her childhood, Rhoades explains how
those experiences have shaped her per-
spective and given her a greater passion
for Jesus. Sharing stories and examples
from Christian contributors, Rhoades
examines different church traditions and
various forms of worship and shines a light
on issues that can result in divisions within
a congregation. Rhoades also explores
the dynamics of Baptist, Methodist, and
Church of God congregations as she
moves from place to place amid
changing jobs and life circumstances,
reminding readers that no church is
perfect, and that one should attend
“expecting to find a community and
always, always, more of Jesus.” She
emphasizes that by listening and
approaching others with an open heart,
one can find new opportunities for expe-
riencing Christ. Christians looking for
community will relish this memoir of
embracing differences. (May)Renovated: God, Dallas Willard &
the Church That Transforms
Jim Wilder. NavPress, $17.99 trade paper
(208p) ISBN 978-1-64158-167-7
Wilder (Rare Leadership), founder of
Life Model Works, an organization that
incorporates brain science research into
the development of Bible-based religious
practices, delivers an in-depth if convo-
luted study of a “soteriology of attachment”
based on the blending of neuroscience
and theology. Arguing that neuroscience
proves people can be retrained into
better habits (what Wilder calls “char-
acter”) through “attachment love”
(“vision, attention, and means” that
come from an “active force created by an
attachment”), he proposes that attachment
to God can bring about deep characterchange for Christians. He structures the
book around talks given by the late phi-
losopher Dallas Willard, alternating
between Willard’s talks and his own
commentary. Included are discussions of
slow and fast track thinking, “hesed”
attachments to God (bonds formed neuro-
logically), and the breakdown of different
spiritual disciplines. Wilder’s engage-
ment with the work of Willard is
rounded out by short exercises that
encourage the application of some of his
points, such as a “mindful presence”
prayer at sunrise or sunset, and meals
organized around spiritual reflection
and communal storytelling. While the
dense explanations of neuroscience
research will prove too opaque for many
readers, fans of Willard will rush to this
evocative study. (May)FICTION
Cowboy for Hire Victoria James. Entangled
Amara, ISBN 978-1-64063-821-1, Apr.
Eden Tim Lebbon. Titan, ISBN 978-1-78909-
293-6, Apr.
First Comes Scandal Julia Quinn. Avon,
ISBN 978-0-06-295616-3, Apr.
Oona Out of Order Margarita Montimore.
Flatiron, ISBN 978-1-250-23660-9, Feb.
Queens of Noise Leigh Harlen. Neon Hemlock,
ISBN 978-1-952086-01-4, Apr.
NONFICTION
★ Active Measures: The Secret History of
Disinformation and Political Warfare
Thomas Rid. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, ISBN 978-
0-374-28726-9, Apr.
Confessions of a Bookseller Shaun Bythell.
David R. Godine, ISBN 978-1-56792-664-4, Apr.
Hell and Other Destinations: A 21st-Century
Memoir Madeleine Albright, with Bill Woodward.
Harper, ISBN 978-0-06-280225-5, Apr.
★ Laugh Lines: Forty Years of Trying to
Make Funny People Funnier Alan Zweibel.
Abrams, ISBN 978-1-4197-3528-8, Apr.
★ Stan Lee: A Life in Comics Liel Leibovitz.
Yale Univ., ISBN 978-0-300-23034-5, Apr.
Three Tigers, One Mountain: A Journey
Through the Bitter History and Current
Conflicts of China, Korea, and Japan
Michael Booth. St. Martin’s, ISBN 978-1-250-
11406-8, Apr.http://www.publishersweekly.comONLINE ONLY