I am currently reading two books simultaneously: Timothy Keller’s The Reason for God and Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream by David Platt. Yes, I love non-fiction, and it is only in recent years that I have come to enjoy fiction as much. Perhaps it is because non-fiction books are so helpful and practical and full of good advice, yet very rarely do I find the life and actions of a fictional character worthy of repeating. Jane Eyre, Anne of Green Gables, maybe, but while I love Louise Erdrich’s prose, I wouldn’t say that many of her characters are worth imitating. Non-fiction, on the other hand, I can count on—to enrich my life and challenge me to be a better person; fiction often feels merely like an escape. This begs the question, Who doesn’t like to escape? But it is precisely because life frequently demands escaping that I feel compelled to stay—face it head on—fight the good fight. I would much rather spend my time improving this life than trying to get out of it—that is, until I die.
The piece of non-fiction that has impacted my life most profoundly is Elisabeth Elliot’s autobiographical book, Loneliness: It can be a Wilderness. It can be a Pathway to God (more recently titled, The Path of Loneliness: Finding Your Way Through the Wilderness to God). I was seventeen years old when my first love decided upon his sophomore year in college that he wanted to date other people. I retreated to this book and found deep consolation in the words of a woman—twice widowed—who was still able to declare amidst all the suffering, “the Lord himself goes at your head; he will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. Do not be discouraged or afraid” (Deut. 31:8). Now, that I can dig.
