The Rest Of Us: Reading & Resources
voices, books, podcasts, and more
Group project (…but, like, in a fun way)
At the beginning of my deconstruction journey, I searched desperately for help/guidance/camaraderie/hope. And it took a lot of digging, but I did find some of those things hidden in books, podcasts, and blogs. It’s startling to think about how different my journey would’ve been had I found them sooner.
For those searching: here is a list of resources you might find helpful.
For you seasoned wanderers and wonderers: let’s collaborate on this list. Please weigh in via the comments with your favorite resources, fiction or nonfiction, in ANY medium…
books
music
podcasts
films
writers
Tell me why they were helpful in your journey and I’ll edit them into this post (and tag you!) so they’re easily discoverable for the people coming up behind us.
Books
Searching For Sunday: Loving, Leaving, and Finding the Church
By Rachel Held Evans
This book was instrumental in my own journey. I can’t recommend it enough to fellow evangelical deconstructionists, especially if you struggle to reconcile conservative politics with your evolving faith.
Field Notes for the Wilderness: Practices for an Evolving Faith
By
This book reads like an instructive assembly of letters from a wanderer who came before you, tied them up with a ribbon, and left them in the hollow of a tree for you to find along your way.
The Understory
By
If you’re struggling to see how the painful work of deconstruction can be good and normal, Lore’s analogy of the forest floor is as beautiful as it is helpful.
Out of Sorts: Making Peace with an Evolving Faith
By
Deconstruction is a scary, loaded word for some people. Don’t get distracted by that. Really, what we’re all doing (as Sarah writes about here) is climbing up into the attic, looking at all the *stuff* we’ve acquired over the years, and endeavoring to sort through what is true and good, and what we’re better off without.
What We Talk about When We Talk about God
By Rob Bell
Sometimes putting new and different language on something we’ve talked about our whole lives helps us understand it on a whole new, more healing level.
How to Walk into a Room: The Art of Knowing When to Stay and When to Walk Away
By
This book is on my TBR! If you loved it, let me know in the comments what your biggest takeaway was.
Curveball: When Your Faith Takes Turns You Never Saw Coming (or How I Stumbled and Tripped My Way to Finding a Bigger God)
By Peter Enns
This is one I have yet to read, but I’ve heard wonderful things about this title, as well as The Bible Tells Me So: Why Defending Scripture Has Made Us Unable to Read It, also by Peter Enns.
also recommends this title!Faith after Doubt: Why Your Beliefs Stopped Working and What to Do About It
By Brian D. McLaren
Another one on my TBR. I can’t wait to get to this one. It seems like McLaren is arming us with practical advice for a very scary, isolating experience.
When Everything’s On Fire: Faith Forged from the Ashes
by Brian Zahnd
Recommended by
, who says, “The whole book is gold for those walking through deconstruction, but especially his metaphor about building our theological house.” Sarah also writes to help busy women connect with God in the midst of everyday life. Check out her Substack here. also recommends “The Wood Between the Worlds” by Brain Zahnd.Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life
by Richard Rohr
Recommended by
along with The Universal Christ: How a Forgotten Reality Can Change Everything We See, Hope For, and Believe, also by Richard Rohr.Reaching Out: The Three Movements of the Spiritual Life
by Henri J. M. Nouwen
Recommended by
, along with The Wounded Healer: Ministry in Contemporary Society also by Henri J. M. Nouwen.Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others
by Barbara Brown Taylor
Recommended by
, along with An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith by the same author.The Jesus Un… series
by Keith Giles
Recommended by
, this includes Jesus Untangled, Jesus Undefeated, Jesus Unexpected, Jesus Unforsaken, and Jesus Unbound.The Wisdom Jesus: Transforming Heart and Mind--A New Perspective on Christ and His Message
By Cynthia Bourgeault
Recommended by
“if you want to more deeply better understand Jesus and not just religion.”Substacks
Eat My Words by
Field Notes by
Notes of a Make-Believe Farmer by
The Corners by
Embodied by
(thanks to for recommending this as well as Fleeing Tarnish. Also…)Podcasts
We’re committed to conversations that build understanding, bring healing and advocate for change. We bring a wide variety of perspectives to the table, and are always curious to learn more. And while we may not always agree, we remain comfortable with new insights and perspectives that move our faith forward.
The podcast where we try to understand the modern dynamics of faith through a combined commitment to uncomfortable honesty, authentic weirdness, and critical thinking.
Broken to Beloved by (he also has a Substack)
The Broken to Beloved Podcast is for anyone who’s been affected by spiritual abuse, religious trauma, or church hurt and is looking for practical resources to move toward healing and wholeness.
The Bible for Normal People (recommended by )
Bring the best in biblical scholarship to everyday people with curiosity, playfulness, and accessibility.
Holy Heretics (recommended by )
The EXvangelical podcast that addresses your questions about faith, politics, how we got here, and how to move forward. No topic is off-limits as we have conversations with scholars, spiritual seekers, and activists in our quest to uncover the heart of faith.
Heretic Happy Hour (recommended by )
An unapologetically irreverent, crass, and sometimes profound conversation about the Christian faith. Hosts Keith Giles, Katy Valentine, Derrick Day, and Matthew Distefano pull no punches and leave no stones unturned. For some serious sacred cow-tipping, there’s nothing better than spending an hour of your time with us.
Love Period (recommended by )
Do you yearn for a new vision of Christianity — one with love and justice at the core of its practice? In conversation with artists, activists, and faith leaders, Dr. Lewis explores the transformative potential and urgent need for radical love in our times.
If you haven't discovered KJ Ramsey yet, she and her husband's Substacks are a must. She's a therapist battling massive, chronic medical issues and pain and has deconstructed into something that I hesitate to put into any box; she's best experienced in her own words. She wrote This Too Shall Last and The Lord Is My Courage, and her substack is called Embodied. Ryan, her husband, primarily deconstructs toxic religious teachings on Fleeing Tarshish; both of them fled church after being badly abused there.
I love a list and I love to see some familiar names and new ones to explore in yours!
A book that I bought this year at Goodwill has stuck with me through and through: The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, by John Mark Comer ♥️
Slow down = the short way to explain a great message to our speedy selves.