Angry Conversations with God: A Snarky but Authentic Spiritual Memoir

Would you like to expose most of the arrogance of the Christian church and laugh while possibly learning about yourself? Susan might be able to help you, without actually "helping" you. This is a book about identity, faith, and the human condition. It's funny enough to make you question yourself and honest enough to make you angry. I believe it's made for writer and artist who are searching for experience and comfort in the hour when they are angry at God for creating their creative-ness. For me, it is the mid-life crisis version of "Dear Abby". It definitely gave me insight about where I am on my own authentic journey with Jesus, God, and everything else.

A brilliant idea for a book/memoir: taking God to couples counseling. Not for the religious faint of heart, as Isaacs really has it out with God, but that's precisely what I loved about it. She is honest about how she feels about him and how she perceives him. I came away with a more enlightened view of my own relationship with God, as well as a whole lot of wish-I'd-thought-of-that envy. Highly recommended!

I swear Susan Isaacs is the love child of Donald Miller and Anne Lamott! Susan decides she has had enough of God and decides to take him to see her therapist for couples counseling. From there it is a beautiful journey through her life's ups and downs while struggling with the god of her childhood.
It felt real, authentic, and deeply Christian from start to finish and her use of scripture never seemed forced. Warning to those that can't take a little language and adult settings then avoid it, but if you're looking for how doubt, struggle and faith are lived out in one woman's Christian journey then pick this one up.

Isaacs presents an honest account of her dialogue with God and shows how her anger subsides in the face of His love. I enjoyed the humor in this book and the heart-felt candor. Isaacs articulates the struggle with faith that many of us face. Suffering disappointments and unrealized dreams, she can't help but wonder what role God plays in all that. She never seems to doubt that He is a personal God, but she sees him as a stingy God for much of the memoir. In the end, Isaacs comes to terms with the struggles of this world and realizes that these struggles are separate from God and His never-ending love. Life can suck, but that is not God's fault. He suffers along with us.

I’ve been putting off writing this review because of just how much I loved this book and I don’t feel like my review can do it justice. Susan Isaacs is a) raw, b) brilliant, and c) hilarious. The literary device she created —of taking God to couples counseling—worked perfectly and did a great job of giving the whole book a cohesive feel that is sometimes absent from memoir. The evolution of God’s voice throughout the book is especially well done.

Reading about the difficulties Isaacs went through in her walk with God felt so much more real than a lot of other Christian books I’ve read in the past. It’s like she’s, this is going to sound crazy, an actual person. She is refreshingly honest and I just fell in love with her show more story and the way she dealt with what came her way. And did I mention she’s funny? Bitingly funny. I couldn’t recommend this book more highly to all of my Christian girlfriends and to anyone who’s disillusioned with the church. We ended up reading it for my book club and every single person absolutely loved it.

Read my full review here: http://c2rcc.wordpress.com/2009/12/05/68-angry-conversations-with-god-by-susan-i... show less

Great read from beginning to end... and don't skip the introduction. :)

"Sarcasm is a viable form of communication." This phrase is sprinkled throughout the book and it's truth is in every chapter.

I found myself going back in time, relating to the mindset of the author in various places throughout my own search for truth. She reveals aspects of many who desire to find the real God and others who kill that desire by thinking they have all the answers.

Her humor is fantastic - great for laughs and powerful for truth. She creates characters from her life that the reader can easily relate to. Her stories put familiar pictures to what many of us have thought or wanted to say. Maybe we've even said it but it didn't feel funny in the midst of show more our frustrations with people or the church or with God.

I recommend this book for those who have struggled to fit in a church or connect with the typical church mindset (or at least it seems typical when you feel you are the only who doesn't think that way). I also recommend it for those who have always loved "the church" and defended "it" as if it were God himself.

Here's a couple of quotes that will stay with me:
"Maybe that's what church really is: just a bunch of guys, trying to figure it out together."

"Here's the hardest thing. I have to accept God as he is. Even if he never blesses me or gives me adventure, purpose, or meaning." show less

What I appreciated most about this book was the author's honesty, her willingness to step outside of what is "acceptable" for a Christian to think and feel and say and instead get real! As a Christian who has been struggling the past year with what church is supposed to be, who I am, and who God really is, I was encouraged by Susan Isaacs' bravery in taking a long, honest look at her relationship with God and not being content to settle for what she knew was not the real thing. I love her descriptions throughout the book of the different churches she went to and the list of Forbidden Words in Chapter 17. Maybe snarky, but true!