Girl Meets God: On the Path to a Spiritual Life

I agree with the reviewer who said that she wanted to love this book, but did not. Winner's life so far has had one remarkable feature: she converted to Orthodox Judaism as a teen, then converted to Anglican Christianity in her twenties (this second conversion was influenced by Jan Karon's Mitford series and a dream she had in which Jesus appeared to her bearing a distinct resemblance to actor Daniel Day-Lewis). Apart from this unusual background, she comes across as just another well-heeled, self-absorbed graduate student. There were chapters in this loosely-organized memoir that were beautifully written and resonant, but by the time I was done with the book, I felt as though I had spent quite enough time with the author.

Being a (fairly) devout Christian who is still searching, I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. I found it strangely inspirational and quite informative. I learned much that I did not know about Orthodox Judaism. I found her path from Judaism to Christianity to be interesting and more realistic than some I've heard. It wasn't a quick transformation but one that ebbed and flowed, full of questions, interspersed with her real life. She isn't perfect, but none of us are. I was inspired to do a few things myself, hoping to increase my own faith.

Flows like an in-depth personal conversation. Honest and intelligent, but left feeling a bit like Winner values religious tradition and human intellect slightly more than God's word. I think it's just that at the writing of this book, that like the rest of us, she's simply still learning to fully trust and listen to God.

Some of the chapters made for great individual essays. Others were messy and incoherent. And the overall thesis of the book--meeting God as a Jew, falling in love with Jesus, and becoming a Christian--didn't quite have the narrative coherence I believe it needed. That said, Winner has good insights on faith and the Bible, and her chapter on Ruth was very good.

Winner’s first book is a very interesting collection. It’s a combination of memoir and theological essays reflecting on her growing up and conversion from Reform to Orthodox Judaism in the southern United States, and then to her study abroad in England where she was baptized as a Christian and how this affected her and her relations and friends. As a historian and scholar she has studied and drunk deeply from the spiritual wisdom of both religions.

While browsing my local public library's shelves for books on the Eucharist, I found this book by Lauren Winner, and started reading her chapter on the Lord's Supper, titled "The Viaticum". Viaticum was a Roman term for the food, clothes, and money that a Roman magistrate would take with him when he traveled on state business. Winner says that early Christians referred to a deathbed Eucharist as a "Viaticum", but she suggests that the term is appropriate for Communion at any time in life, since the grace provided for us through Jesus' body and blood is the equipping we need for our journey through life.

The book is a well written memoir of her teenage conversion to orthodox Judaism and then her college conversion to Anglican show more Christianity. She weaves her story together from disparate events, conversations, and books. Part of what I enjoyed about "Girl Meets God" is the way books almost become a character in her life. show less

Lauren Winner's is a great writer, though she writes for an audience that is well read on literary greats, of which I am not. She does a decent job of explaining the extremely obscure authors she references, but other times she makes allusions without explanation to authors and works of writing I know nothing about.

The first half of the memoir follows a sort of path of her faith journey from reformed Jew to Orthodox Jew to Episcopal Christian. The second half or so is more of a collection of memoir thoughts and stories related to her faith. I really enjoyed the book overall.