Amy Hollingsworth

Letters from the Closet sucks you in from the very first page with rich detail and emotion. This is not a book about hero-worship. Amy makes no effort to portray John as some kind of god or symbol of perfection. Rather, this is an honest and open book that strips bare both her emotions and his, revealing two very real people.

I saved this book for a weekend when I would be alone so I could avoid those pesky questions like, “Can you fix me something to eat?” and “Mama, why are you show more crying?” When I made it through most of the book without crying, I thought I was in the clear. I was about 3/4 way through when the tears started. But some people are over-achievers, and Amy apparently couldn’t be satisfied with a few quiet, graceful (it could happen) tears running down my face as I read. No, by the end of the book, I was sobbing; it was loud and most definitely not graceful. As always, though, Amy infuses bits of humor into her story. Not in an inappropriate way, but in a way that reminds us that while life can be harsh, there is always something to smile about.

Letters from the Closet is a book about a girl’s relationship with her gay teacher, but it’s so much more, and if that’s all you take away from this book, then you’re missing out. This book is about relationships, and the connection we all seek to other humans.

“That’s what we both wanted. To be read. To be asked. To have someone in our lives we couldn’t fool.” – Letters from the Closet

I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions are my own. show less

Letters from the Closet sucks you in from the very first page with rich detail and emotion. This is not a book about hero-worship. Amy makes no effort to portray John as some kind of god or symbol of perfection. Rather, this is an honest and open book that strips bare both her emotions and his, revealing two very real people.

I saved this book for a weekend when I would be alone so I could avoid those pesky questions like, “Can you fix me something to eat?” and “Mama, why are you show more crying?” When I made it through most of the book without crying, I thought I was in the clear. I was about 3/4 way through when the tears started. But some people are over-achievers, and Amy apparently couldn’t be satisfied with a few quiet, graceful (it could happen) tears running down my face as I read. No, by the end of the book, I was sobbing; it was loud and most definitely not graceful. As always, though, Amy infuses bits of humor into her story. Not in an inappropriate way, but in a way that reminds us that while life can be harsh, there is always something to smile about.

Letters from the Closet is a book about a girl’s relationship with her gay teacher, but it’s so much more, and if that’s all you take away from this book, then you’re missing out. This book is about relationships, and the connection we all seek to other humans.

“That’s what we both wanted. To be read. To be asked. To have someone in our lives we couldn’t fool.” – Letters from the Closet

I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions are my own. show less

A fantastic tale of Mister Rogers. I figured it would probably be a fluff piece about how we should be kind to each other and not preach religion. I was glad to learn I was wrong. Amy Hollingsworth is a preacher's wife, raised Catholic, but her husband is a Protestant (Pentacostal I think but I haven't been able to confirm that) pastor.

Mister Rogers was an ordained Presbyterian minister. His parents assumed he'd go to seminary, so he did, but was called by God to children's television and show more not the pulpit. He tried to the get the American Presbyterian Church to ordain him a pastor without a parish and assign him to children's television, possibly producing content for the denomination's Sunday Schools, but they did not. Eventually he did finish his studies whilst working on Mister Rogers Neighborhood, but he never did pastor a congregation.

I really appreciated how Fred Rogers was able to over the course of like three years of correspondence with Hollingsworth really show love to her and really introduce Christ to her in a way that even a Cradle Catholic Preacher's wife hadn't known.

I've heard the story of seeing people hit in the face with pies on T.V. leading Fred to feel he had to get involved to ensure such a powerful medium was used for betterment of humankind, and not such demeaningness. However I was most touched by his description of the Holy Spirit working between the T.V. and the television neighbor to comfort them and tell them exactly what they needed to hear. More than once, he described a way a viewer, kid or parent, described how when he said such-and-such on such-and-such episode and how it changed their life, yet he wouldn't remember ever having said that, and went back and verified it was never in the script, but God found a way regardless.

I highly recommend this book, particularly to believers in a time when many in The West are lost, both in and out of the Church. show less

This review of Holy Curiosity is unique for two reasons. One is that I actually bought the book. I don't buy books. More importantly, I bought this book new, not used. When I do purchase books, I always go used, because it's cheaper. The second is that I have known Amy for several years through an online homeschool group. I've become acquainted with a couple of authors after they asked me to review a book for them, but I've never reviewed a book when I already had a friendship with the show more author. Amy didn't ask me to review this book and I would probably have politely refused if she had. What if I didn't like it? How do you write a negative review for a book a friend wrote? I was not going there. Turns out I didn't have to. I loved this book.

"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity." - Albert Einstein

Amy defines creativity this way: "For creativity to happen, something within you must be brought to life in something outside of you." Curiosity leads to creativity and both come from God. In Holy Curiosity, we learn the three elements that are necessary for creativity. (No, I'm not going to tell you. You have to read the book.)

Every human is creative, and there is more to creativity than just painting and music. I love how Amy says, "It's not how creative are you, but how you are creative." The best way to discover how you are creative is to ask family and friends what your talents are or to think back to the things you enjoyed as a child before your curiosity and creativity were crushed by unthinking adults. I loved to write. Had I not recently started writing again (at this point, my writing is in the form of blogging) recently, this book would have inspired me to do so. I have been writing more lately, though, so this merely reinforced my conviction that this is what I should be doing.

An alternative (though not the recommended) way to find your creative strengths is to take the Multiple Intelligences Quiz. The Multiple Intelligence Types are Linguistic, Musical, Logical-Mathematical, Spatial, Kinesthetic, Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, and Naturalist. Amy talks more about this in her book.

Understanding the unique way you are creative is important because we need to express that talent to the best of our ability to honor God. In this encouraging (and sometimes humorous) book, Amy shows us how to bring out the best in ourselves in order to glorify God.

About the book:
Title: Holy Curiosity: Culitvating the Creative Spirit in Everyday Life
Author: Amy Hollingsworth
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Release date: July 1, 2011
Pages: 156
Where I got the book: I bought the Kindle version show less