Reimagining the Good Life with Amy Julia Becker

What's the difference between limitations and brokenness? What does it mean to be blessed? How can a dual diagnosis of Down syndrome and autism be a part of a flourishing life? Micha Boyett, a writer, poet, and mom, joins Amy Julia Becker to talk about her new book Blessed Are the Rest of Us. They explore the intersection of blessing, limits, and longing within the context of the Beatitudes, including:The meaning of 'blessed' and how it relates to the gifts and challenges of being humanFlourishing in the midst of grief and hardshipThe importance of insisting on presence and inclusion for people with disabilitiesHow to recognize and accept limitations without equating them with brokennessUsing our imaginations, minds, and bodies to move toward a new vision of the good lifeWorkshop with Amy Julia: Reimagining Family Life With DisabilityGuest Bio:Micha Boyett is the author of Blessed Are the Rest of Us: How Limits and Longing Make Us Whole. She is cohost of the award-winning The Lucky Few podcast, creator of The Slow Way podcast and newsletter, and has written for publications such as the Washington Post and Christianity Today. Micha lives with her husband and three children in northern New Jersey and works part-time as a youth pastor at Good Shepherd Church in New York City.Connect Online:Website: michaboyett.comInstagram: @michaboyettThreads: @michaboyettOn the Podcast:{The Transition to Adulthood} Amy Julia on the Lucky Few Podcast{Living into the Really Real} Micha on Amy Julia’s podcastThe BeatitudesThe Sermon on the Mount and Human Flourishing: A Theological Commentary by Jonathan T. PenningtonNick Cave on Krista Tippett’s On Being podcastAmy Julia’s book White Picket FencesThe Slow Way podcast and newsletterWorkshop with Amy Julia: Reimagining Family Life With DisabilityTRANSCRIPT: amyjuliabecker.com/micha-boyett/YouTube Channel: video with closed captionsLet’s Reimagine the Good Life together. Find out more at amyjuliabecker.com.Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening!

{Please note that we discuss abuse in this episode.}How do we love people across our political and social divides? What are the costs and gifts of loving our political neighbor? Nancy French, author of Ghosted: An American Story, talks with Amy Julia Becker about:Her experiences as a ghostwriter for GOP politicians and her decision to leave the industryPolarization within the church and the political landscapeInadequate responses to abuse from both the church and the cultureThe cost of speaking outFinding hope and connection in surprising waysNew Workshop with Amy Julia: Reimagining Family Life With Disability_GUEST BIO:Nancy French has collaborated on multiple books for celebrities - five of which made the New York Times best seller list - and written books under her own name.  She has conducted a multi-year journalistic investigation, written commentary, and published for the nation’s most prominent newspapers and magazines. Her memoir, Ghosted, is a story of poverty, success and the rise and fall of political influence. She lives in Franklin, Tennessee with her husband – journalist David French – and family._CONNECT ONLINEWebsite: nancyfrench.comInstagram: @nancyjanefrenchFacebook: @NancyAndersonFrenchTwitter: @NancyAFrench_ON THE PODCAST:New Workshop with Amy Julia: Reimagining Family Life With DisabilityGhosted: An American Story by Nancy FrenchThe Washington Post: What it’s like to experience the 2016 election as both a conservative and a sex abuse survivor by Nancy FrenchNancy’s Kanakuk Kamp investigationDavid French at the New York Times_TRANSCRIPT: amyjuliabecker.com/nancy-french/_YouTube Channel: video with closed captions_Let’s Reimagine the Good Life together. Find out more at amyjuliabecker.com._Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening!

Why does it matter that most churches don’t welcome people with disabilities in leadership? If a church excludes people with disabilities, is it really a church? Rev. Dr. Andrew Draper, coauthor of Disabling Leadership, talks with Amy Julia Becker about:Ways in which churches exclude and marginalize people with disabilitiesWhy it’s essential to centralize people with disabilities in church life and leadershipHow disability inclusion benefits the whole congregationReimagining church employment practices to create opportunities for people with disabilitiesWhy churches are tempted to pursue efficiency and productivity, and the invitation to a different wayHow to minister in the midst of humannessWorkshop: Reimagining Family Life with DisabilityEVENT: Festival of Faith & Writing__Guest Bio:Rev. Dr. Andrew T. Draper (PhD, University of Aberdeen) is founding teaching pastor at Urban Light Community Church in Muncie, Indiana, and adjunct theology faculty at Anderson School of Theology and Winebrenner Seminary. He is the author of A Theology of Race and Place, Christian Mission and Poverty, and numerous articles on race, disability, and the church. He is the coauthor of Disabling Leadership: A Practical Theology for the Broken Body of Christ._Connect Online:Read Andrew's blog.Follow him on Twitter: @AndrewTDraper_On the Podcast:Disabling Leadership: A Practical Theology for the Broken Body of Christ by Andrew T. Draper, Jody Michele, and Andrea MaeBrian BrockI Corinthians 12Friendship House (Western Theological Seminary)Friendship House (Aberdeen)Workshop: Reimagining Family Life with Disability_TRANSCRIPT: amyjuliabecker.com/andrew-draper/_YouTube: video with closed captions_Let’s reimagine the good life together. Find out more at amyjuliabecker.com.Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening!

Why would a Christian author immerse her stories in darkness? Why would she use violent imagery that directly relates to Christianity, race, class, disability, and illness? And how can this darkness guide us toward the importance of love in the flesh, of personal connection and vulnerability? In this conversation, Dr. Jessica Hooten Wilson, author of Flannery O’Connor’s Why Do the Heathen Rage? A Behind-the-Scenes Look at a Work in Progress, and Amy Julia Becker explore:Flannery O'Connor's unique perspective on faith and darknessThe portrayal of disability in O’Connor’s storiesLove in the abstract versus love in the fleshChallenges of publishing an unfinished manuscriptHow the prophetic imagination in O'Connor's work confronts the dominant culture's illusions about the good lifeRegister for the Festival of Faith & Writing__Guest Bio:Jessica Hooten Wilson (PhD, Baylor University) is the Fletcher Jones Endowed Chair of Great Books at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. She is the author or editor of eight books, including Flannery O’Connor’s Why Do the Heathen Rage? A Behind-the-Scenes Look at a Work in Progress, Reading for the Love of God, The Scandal of Holiness (winner of a Christianity Today 2023 Award of Merit), and Giving the Devil His Due: Demonic Authority in the Fiction of Flannery O’Connor and Fyodor Dostoevsky (winner of a 2018 Christianity Today Book of the Year Award). Wilson speaks around the world on topics as varied as Russian novelists, Catholic thinkers, and Christian ways of reading. __Connect Online:Website: https://jessicahootenwilson.com/Instagram: @drjessicahootenwilsonFacebook: @JessicaHootenWilsonTwitter: @HootenWilsonOn the Podcast:Flannery O’Connor’s Why Do the Heathen Rage? A Behind-the-Scenes Look at a Work in ProgressRegister for the Festival of Faith & WritingTRANSCRIPT: amyjuliabecker.com/jessica-hooten-wilson__Let’s Reimagine the Good Life together through the lens of disability, faith, and culture. Find out more at amyjuliabecker.com.Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening!

Is blindness an incidental characteristic, like hair color? Or is it an identity? What language should we use to talk about disability, and why does it matter? Andrew Leland, author of The Country of the Blind, joins Amy Julia Becker on the podcast for a conversation examining:Blindness and identityThe importance of language and the use of metaphors in relation to disabilityHow the experience of disability can involve beauty, power, and lossThe role of allies in advocating with disabled individualsHow Andrew has reimagined the good life_Amy Julia’s upcoming events_Guest Bio:Andrew Leland is a writer, audio producer, editor, and teacher living in Western Massachusetts. His first book, The Country of the Blind: A Memoir at the End of Sight, about the world of blindness (and figuring out his place in it), was published in July 2023 by Penguin Press. You can find links to order a copy here._Connect Online:Website: www.andrewleland.orgInstagram: @quailty_On the Podcast:Amy Julia’s upcoming eventsLeland’s New Yorker essay “How to Be Blind”National Federation of the BlindSara Hendren’s book and podcast episode with Amy JuliaAmy S. F. Lutz’s Chasing the Intact MindDeath Panel podcastJohn McWhorter’s NYT essay: “When We Do, and Don’t, Need a New Phrase to Describe Reality”Disability Language Style Guide TRANSCRIPT: amyjuliabecker.com/andrew-leland/_YouTube: video with closed captions_Reimagine the Good Life with me through the lens of disability, faith, and culture as we challenge assumptions about the good life, proclaim the inherent belovedness of every human being, and envision a world of belonging. Find out more at amyjuliabecker.com.Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening!

This podcast has a new name: Reimagining the Good Life. If you’re asking, “Why a name change?” and “Why now?”—I have answers! Author and teacher Patricia Clarke talks with me about:How disability challenges assumptions about the good lifeAccepting limitations and finding freedom within themHow faith and culture shape our understanding of the good lifeThe power of reimagining what’s possibleWhat all of this has to do with changing the podcast name!_GUEST BIO:Patricia Clarke is a speaker, teacher, and writer who brings people from different backgrounds together to talk about faith. She holds a master’s degree in English Literature, a Barnabas Counseling Certificate, and is currently enrolled in the Master of Theology program at Fuller Theological Seminary. In her new workbook, Lifted by Love, Clarke weaves her personal faith, love of storytelling, and teaching skills together to bring the wisdom of the Bible into daily life. She currently lives in Richmond, Virginia with her husband and four children. For up-to-date information, follow her on Instagram @patriciaclarkestudies or visit her website to subscribe to her updates: patriciaclarke.org._On the Podcast:Patricia Clarke’s book Lifted by LoveSteve Perkins at Greenhouse CoachingAmy Julia’s book White Picket FencesAndrew Leland’s book Country of the BlindMicha Boyett’s book Blessed Are the Rest of UsTreasures in the Dark by Katherine Wolfe and Alex WolfJohn McWhorter’s misunderstanding of disability Subscribe to Amy Julia’s updates_TRANSCRIPT: amyjuliabecker.com/podcast-reimagining-good-life/_YouTube Channel: video with closed captions_Reimagine the Good Life with me through the lenses of disability, faith, and culture. Find out more at amyjuliabecker.com.Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening!

Is faith something that should always stay the same? Or is it something that evolves by necessity? Sarah Bessey, author of Field Notes for the Wilderness, talks with Amy Julia Becker about:Her evolving faith journeyHow to adapt and thrive in an evolving faithMaking room for change, in ourselves and othersNavigating the intersection of anger and joyHow to discover what we're hoping for, not just what we’re againstHow to embrace the gifts of an evolving faith__MY LENTEN RESOURCES:LENTEN DAILY DEVOTIONALLenten Small Group Guide & Video Series_Guest Bio:Sarah Bessey is the author or editor of five books, including the New York Times bestseller A Rhythm of Prayer. Her latest book is Field Notes for the Wilderness: Practices for an Evolving Faith.. She also leads Evolving Faith, a conference and online community for people who are reimagining their faith with hope. Bessey lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, with her husband and their four children._Connect Online:Website: sarahbessey.comInstagram: @sarahbesseyFacebook:@sarah.styles.bessey_On the Podcast:Jesus Feminist: An Invitation to Revisit the Bible's View of Women_TRANSCRIPT: amyjuliabecker.com/sarah-bessey/_YouTube Channel: video with closed captions_Season 7 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening!

Holiday culture wars and consumerism bring more chaos than joy to the world. But there’s hope. The countercultural season of Advent offers a different way to prepare for Christmas. Tish Harrison Warren, former New York Times columnist and author, talks with Amy Julia Becker about:How the practices of Advent disarm the culture warsWays that Advent helps us grieve and hopeWhy waiting to celebrate Christmas mattersPLUS why Tish chose to leave the New York TimesGive a book for Christmas!__Guest Bio:Tish Harrison Warren is a priest in the Anglican Church in North America. She is a former New York Times columnist the author of Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life (Christianity Today's 2018 Book of the Year) and Prayer in the Night: For Those Who Work, or Watch, or Weep (Christianity Today's 2022 Book of the Year and the 2022 ECPA Christian Book of the Year). Her latest book is Advent: The Season of Hope. She is a founding member of The Pelican Project and a Senior Fellow with the Trinity Forum. She lives with her husband and three children in Austin, Texas.__Connect Online:Visit Tish's website at tishharrisonwarren.comFollow Tish on Instagram: @tishharrisonwarren__On the Podcast:Advent: The Season of HopeMore of Tish's booksTish’s final essay at the TimesAmy Julia's books__TRANSCRIPT: amyjuliabecker.com//tish-harrison-warren/__YouTube Channel: video with closed captions__Season 7 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening!

Anxious parents. Anxious families. Anxiety is contagious. How do I know if I’m an anxious parent? And if I am one, how is that affecting my kids? What can I do about it—for their sake and for mine? Therapist and author Sissy Goff, LPC-MHSP, joins Amy Julia Becker on the podcast to talk about:How to identify and stop anxiety loopsWhy failure is good for parents and kidsCommon parenting strategies that DON’T workPractical tools for changing thought and behavior patternsPLUS you get to listen in to Amy Julia’s own parenting therapy session when she tells Sissy the hardest thing for her as a parent right now! Advent Devotional: Prepare Him Room is available now!__GUEST BIO:“Sissy Goff, LPC-MHSP, has worked as the director of child and adolescent counseling at Daystar Counseling Ministries since 1993. She speaks to parents and children's ministers across the country, is a frequent guest on media outlets, and is the author of 13 books including her latest, The Worry-Free Parent. She also co-hosts the chart-topping Raising Boys and Girls podcast, with fellow Daystar Counselor David Thomas.”__Connect Online:Website: www.raisingboysandgirls.comInstagram: @RaisingBoysandGirls and @sissygoffFacebook: @raisingboysandgirlsYouTube: @raisingboysandgirls__On the Podcast:The Worry-Free Parent: Living in Confidence so Your Kids Can Too (Bethany House)The Worry-Free Parent Workbook__TRANSCRIPT: amyjuliabecker.com/sissy-goff/__YouTube Channel: video with closed captionsSeason 7 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening!

How do we show up for each other in the midst of pain? Is it possible to hope when we’re suffering? Psychiatrist Curt Thompson, author of The Deepest Place, joins Amy Julia Becker to talk about:How to identify the denial and shame we’ve connected to sufferingHow to form durable hope in the darkest placesHow to help a friend in the midst of suffering__Guest Bio:“Inspired by deep compassion for others and informed from a Christian perspective, psychiatrist Curt Thompson shares fresh insights and practical applications for developing more authentic relationships and fully experiencing our deepest longing: to be known. He helps people process their longings, grief, identity, purpose, perspective of God, and perspective of humanity, inviting them to engage more authentically with their own stories and their relationships. Only then can they feel truly known and connected and live into the meaningful reality they desire to create. Curt and his wife, Phyllis, live outside of Washington DC and have two adult children.”__Connect Online:Website: curtthompsonmd.comInstagram: @curtthompsonmdFacebook: @CurtThompsonMDTwitter: @curt_thompsonmd__On the Podcast:The Deepest Place: Suffering and the Formation of HopeAmy Julia’s book: To Be Made Well: An Invitation to Wholeness, Healing, and HopeHope Heals CampHebrews 12:1-3The Bible ProjectGenesis 2Genesis: The Story We Haven't Heard by Paul Borgman__TRANSCRIPT: amyjuliabecker.com/curt-thompson/__YouTube Channel (interview video with closed captions)__Season 7 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening!

What happens when women receive a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome? How does that diagnosis affect those women and their families? How does it affect our whole society?  Stephanie Meredith joins Amy Julia Becker for a conversation about her new report on the bias doctors have when giving a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome, including:The landscape of prenatal testingHow doctors approach it and what they could do betterWhy these conversations matter outside the Down syndrome space__FREE DOWNLOAD: ​​5 THINGS I WISH I'D KNOWN WHEN OUR DAUGHTER WAS DIAGNOSED WITH DOWN SYNDROME__Guest Bio:Stephanie Meredith is the Director of the National Center for Prenatal and Postnatal Resources at the University of Kentucky’s Human Development Institute and co-author and lead author of numerous studies, including “The impact of implicit and explicit bias about disabilities on parent experiences and information provided during prenatal screening and testing” in the Disability and Health Journal. In addition, she is a 4th-year doctoral student at Georgia State University with a focus on disability and health and the mother of a 23-year-old with Down syndrome and two younger daughters.__Connect Online:www.lettercase.orgInstagram: @lettercaseorgFacebook: @lettercaseorg__On the Podcast:Report in the Disability and Health JournalTIME: Doctors Don’t Know How to Talk About Down SyndromeLettercaseHHS and Disability DiscriminationNYT: When They Warn of Rare Disorders, These Prenatal Tests Are Usually WrongS7 E3 | Netflix’s Down for Love with Robyn Paterson__TRANSCRIPT: amyjuliabecker.com/stephanie-meredith/YouTube Channel: video with closed captionsSeason 7 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening!

Have you watched the new show on Netflix called Down for Love? It’s a reality dating show for people with Down syndrome, and we’re celebrating the start of Down Syndrome Awareness month with a conversation with the producer of Down for Love, Robyn Paterson. We talk about:How the show was createdThe diversity of the Down syndrome communityThe universal desire for love, relationships, and connectionBONUS CONTENT: At the end of the episode, I talk with Penny, our 17-year-old daughter who has Down syndrome, about her thoughts on Down for Love.___FREE DOWNLOAD: ​​5 THINGS I WISH I'D KNOWN WHEN OUR DAUGHTER WAS DIAGNOSED WITH DOWN SYNDROME___TIME ESSAY: Doctors Don't Know How to Talk About Down Syndrome___GUEST BIO:“Robyn Paterson is a New Zealand-based producer, director and writer known for Down for Love (2022), Grand Designs New Zealand (2015) and In the Zone (2018). She works across various roles within multiple formats, including television factual, documentary & entertainment series, documentary feature, web-series, comedy, and drama. She has a background as an actress and presenter, and is the current president of the Directors & Editors Guild of Aotearoa New Zealand.”___Connect Online:Website: https://www.robynpaterson.co.nz/Instagram: @_robynpaterson____On the Podcast:Down for LoveNew Zealand Down Syndrome Association ___TRANSCRIPT: amyjuliabecker.com/robyn-paterson/YouTube Channel: video with closed captions___Season 7 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening!

Do you wrestle with anxiety? Are you plagued with worries? Do you think you’ve conquered anxiety? Curtis Chang, author of The Anxiety Opportunity, joins Amy Julia Becker for a conversation that uncovers: what anxiety really is all aboutspiritual practices for facing anxietypractical ways we can grow in the midst of anxiety__Guest Bio:Curtis Chang is a theologian and consulting faculty member of Duke Divinity School and a Senior Fellow at Fuller Theological Seminary. He is the founder of Redeeming Babel and the host of the Good Faith podcast. His latest book is The Anxiety Opportunity: How Worry Is the Doorway to Your Best Self. __Connect Online:Redeeming BabelInstagram: @redeemingbabelFacebook: @redeemingbabelTwitter: @hcurtischangRB__On the Podcast:The Anxiety Opportunity: How Worry Is the Doorway to Your Best SelfTo Be Made Well: An Invitation to Wholeness, Healing, and HopeThe Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der KolkThe Good Faith podcastMatthew 6:25-34Matthew 26:36-46Psalm 139Jesus Is the Question: The 307 Questions Jesus Asked and the 3 He Answered by Martin B. Copenhaver__Transcript: amyjuliabecker.com/curtis-chang/YouTube Channel: video with closed captions  __Season 7 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening!

“Whose stories matter?” Esau McCaulley, author of How Far to the Promised Land, joins Amy Julia Becker for an honest, hopeful conversation about:being Black in Americahonoring the messiness and complexity of our humanityholding on to hope in the goodness of God“How do the people whom we love, who hurt us, shape the kind of people we become? And how do we make peace with that?” _Guest Bio:“Rev. Esau McCaulley, PhD is an author and associate professor of New Testament at Wheaton College. His writing and speaking focus on New Testament theology, African American Biblical interpretation, and Christian public theology. His new memoir How Far to the Promised Land, questions the narrative of exceptionalism that he, and other Black survivors, are conditioned to give when they “make it” in America. His book Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope won numerous awards, including Christianity Today’s book of the year. Esau is a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times. His writings have also appeared in places such as The Atlantic, Washington Post, and Christianity Today.”_Connect Online:Website: esaumccaulley.comInstagram: @esaumccaulleyFacebook: @OfficialEsauMcCaulleyTwitter: @esaumccaulley_On the Podcast:Previous episode: S3 E11 | The Black Church’s Gift to Christianity with Esau McCaulleyReading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in HopeChildren’s book: Josey Johnson’s Hair and the Holy SpiritLent: The Season of Repentance and RenewalGenesis 25:19-27:45_For transcript, go here: amyjuliabecker.com/esau-mccaulley_Season 7 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com._*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day on my website, and a video with closed captions will be available on my YouTube Channel.Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening!

Love is stronger than fear. What if we really believed it? What if we lived into love and weren’t overcome by anxiety? What if, even in the midst of the harrowing realities of our global catastrophes and the mundane realities of our everyday lives—what if we could live in a way that deepens who we are, that connects us to ourselves, to God, to one another? I’m Amy Julia Becker, and this is a podcast about what it means to be human beings who seek love rather than fear, hope rather than cynicism, healing rather than division.In this season, I am excited to talk with Esau McCaulley about wrestling with his humanity as a Black man in America, and with Curtis Chang about the possibilities that open up when we face our own anxiety. Other guests include New York Times columnist Tish Harrison Warren and bestselling author Curt Thompson. We’ll talk about disability and culture and spirituality and maybe some politics and, again, about walking with courage along a way of grace and love. The first episode will drop on September 5th. Meanwhile, now is the time to let other people know about this podcast by sharing this trailer with them, leaving a rating or review, and, if you haven’t already, subscribing so you can get new content every two weeks. Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening!

Is racism baked into our nation’s DNA? Is there any hope for change? John Blake, a CNN journalist and author of More Than I Imagined, explores the personal and social aspects of race as he shares:his own experience as a biracial kid growing up in West Baltimoretime at Howard University and working for CNNunderstanding of race and faith in Americaexperience of learning about his own white family as a young adultreasons for hope_Guest Bio:John Blake is an award-winning journalist at CNN.com and an author. He has been honored by the Associated Press, the Society of Professional Journalists, the American Academy of Religion, the National Association of Black Journalists, the Religion Communicators Council and with the GLAAD Media Award…He has spoken at high schools, colleges, symposiums and in documentaries about topics such as race, religion and politics.  Blake is a native of Baltimore, Maryland and a graduate of Howard University._Connect Online:WebsiteTwitterFacebook_On the Podcast:More Than I Imagined by John BlakeCry of the Beloved Country by Alan Paton Beloved by Toni MorrisonTranscript available at: amyjuliabecker.com/john-blake/_Season 6 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com._A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day on my website, and a video with closed captions will be available on my YouTube Channel.Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening!

How do we prepare now to die well? Can we reimagine care of the dying in all of its messiness as a gift? Dr. Lydia Dugdale, a medical ethicist, internal medicine doctor, professor, and author of The Lost Art of Dying, talks with Amy Julia Becker about:DisabilityDeathMedical assistance in dyingHonoring all human life as the gift it is without idolizing life__Guest Bio:“Lydia Dugdale MD, MAR, is the Dorothy L. and Daniel H. Silberberg Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of the Center for Clinical Medical Ethics at Columbia University. Prior to her 2019 move to Columbia, she was Associate Director of the Program for Biomedical Ethics and founding Co-Director of the Program for Medicine, Spirituality, and Religion at Yale School of Medicine. She is an internal medicine primary care doctor and medical ethicist. Her first book, Dying in the Twenty-First Century (MIT Press, 2015), provides the theoretical grounding for this current book. She lives with her husband and daughters in New York City.”__Connect Online:Website: lydiadugdale.com__On the Podcast:Book: The Lost Art of Dying: Reviving Forgotten Wisdom__Interview transcript and more: amyjuliabecker.com/lydia-dugdale__Season 6 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.__*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day on my website, and a video with closed captions will be available on my YouTube Channel.Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening!

Do you feel like you have to stay strong to survive? Aundi Kolber, a licensed professional counselor and author, talks with Amy Julia Becker about her latest book, Strong Like Water. They discuss how to:become strong in new waysreceive and participate in healinglive with compassion towards ourselves and carry love in our bodies__Guest Bio“Aundi Kolber is a licensed professional counselor (MA, LPC) and author of the critically acclaimed Try Softer. She has received additional training in her specialization of trauma- and body-centered therapies and is passionate about the integration of faith and psychology. Aundi regularly speaks at local and national events, and she has appeared on podcasts such as The Lazy Genius with Kendra Adachi, Typology, Go and Tell Gals, and The Next Right Thing with Emily P. Freeman. As a survivor of trauma, Aundi brings hard-won knowledge about the work of change, the power of redemption, and the beauty of experiencing God with us in our pain.”__Connect Online:Aundi’s websiteAundi on InstagramAundi on Twitter__On the Podcast:Small Talk AudiobookBook: Strong like Water: Finding the Freedom, Safety, and Compassion to Move through Hard Things--and Experience True Flourishing Dr. Gabor Maté__Transcript:For transcript and more, go to: amyjuliabecker.com/aundi-kolber/__Season 6 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day on my website, and a video with closed captions will be available on my YouTube Channel.Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening!

In an environment of deconstruction, how do we identify what needs to be torn down? And in the midst of the rubble, what are we rebuilding? Dr. Yolanda Pierce, author of In My Grandmother’s House, joins Amy Julia Becker for a conversation about:grandmother theologydeconstructing Christian faithBlack Jesus and unlearning racial hierarchieshope that something true and good and beautiful can be renewed and rebuilt within the church and within our world__Guest Bio:“Yolanda Pierce, PhD, is a scholar, writer, womanist theologian, and accomplished administrator in higher education. She was appointed the Founding Director of the Center for African American Religious Life at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). And she currently serves as Professor and Dean of the Howard University School of Divinity.” Dr. Pierce will soon be Dean of Vanderbilt Divinity School.__Book: In My Grandmother’s House: Black Women, Faith, and the Stories We Inherit__Connect Online:Website: yolandapierce.comTwitter: @YNPierce__For the transcript, go to: amyjuliabecker.com/yolanda-pierceThe transcript will be available within one business day on my website, and a video with closed captions will be available on my YouTube Channel.__Season 6 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening!

How do we step into the good work of kingdom justice? In this episode: hear the story of Michelle Ferrigno Warren, a faith-rooted justice advocate and activistlearn how to be a faithful ally in this life-giving, transformative justice work__Guest Bio:Michelle is the president and CEO of Virago Strategies, a consulting group that provides strategic direction and project management for civic engagement campaigns alongside communities affected by racial and economic injustice. She helped found Open Door Ministries in downtown Denver to address poverty, addiction, and homelessness. She is also the author of a new book, Join the Resistance.__Connect Online:Website: michelleferrignowarren.comInstagram: @michelleferrignowarrenFacebook: @michelle.f.warren.1Twitter: @mcfwarren__On the Podcast:Michelle’s books: Join the Resistance and The Power of ProximityOpen Door MinistriesI John 3:18Nicholas Wolterstorff Micah 6:8Hebrews 11Amos 5:24__Transcript and more: amyjuliabecker.com/michelle-ferrigno-warren__Season 6 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.__*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day on my website, and a video with closed captions will be available on my YouTube Channel.Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening!