Awards
- Commended for Triangle Awards (Lesbian Nonfiction) 2013
Overview
Kelly Barth, like many American kids, went to Sunday school, sang songs about Zaccheas, and was tucked in with bedtime prayers. A typical Christian kid, that is, until she developed a searingly deep crush on another little girl playing afterhours in church, and more importantly, until Jesus--a tiny, imaginary Jesus, one that stays ""safely tucked behind the baseboard or the petals of a peony""--became her invisible friend and constant companion. Heartbreakingly honest and hilarious, My Almost Certainly Real Imaginary Jesus shows just how easy it can be to fall headlong into fundamentalism, venturing into the very heart of enemy territory and the churchAEs false promises of altar calls and sexual cures. In the spirit of Anne LamottAEs Traveling Mercies, this debut memoir is plainspoken, speaking with candor and insight. Barth particularly addresses the disconnect between the radical and very human Jesus of history and the churchAEs supernatural savior. She asks the question to all in the closet--both closet Christians and closet homosexuals: Which is more difficult, admitting to being Christian or admitting to being gay? An answer is found in her own hard-won journey, a hopeful answer that is an ""attempt to leave a record of the early signs of the turning and softening of a collective heart."" Giving voice to many who have searched for sanctuary in a church that has largely rejected them, this story pauses at the threshold of one of a growing number of churches which, in opening the door to her and other homosexuals, welcome Jesus back inside as well.
Full Product Details
Author: Kelly Barth
Publisher: Red Hen Press
Imprint: Arktoi Books
Dimensions:
Width: 12.70cm
, Height: 1.80cm
, Length: 20.30cm
Weight: 0.227kg
ISBN: 9780980040753
ISBN 10: 0980040752
Pages: 240
Publication Date: 18 October 2012
Audience:
General/trade
,
General
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Temporarily unavailable
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Reviews
<p> Kelly Barth's heartfelt, funny, and wrenching book is testimony to Jesus' steadfast love. Her faith, tested and tried, looks beyond the failings of religion to claim that love for all. <br>--Sara Miles, author of Take This Bread and Jesus Freak
Kelly Barth s heartfelt, funny, and wrenching book is testimony to Jesus steadfast love. Her faith, tested and tried, looks beyond the failings of religion to claim that love for all. Sara Miles, author of <i>Take This Bread</i> and <i>Jesus Freak</i></p>
<p> Kelly Barth's heartfelt, funny, and wrenching book is testimony to Jesus' steadfast love. Her faith, tested and tried, looks beyond the failings of religion to claim that love for all. <br> --Sara Miles, author of Take This Bread and Jesus Freak
Author Information
Kelly Barth was a fiction fellow in the University of Montana's creative writing program and has received fellowships from the Missouri Arts Council and the Kansas Arts Commission. Her work has been published in anthologies and literary journals, most recently Coal City Review and Muse & Stone. She lives in a very small house with her partner Lisa Grossman in Lawrence, Kansas. My Almost Certainly Real Imaginary Jesus is her first book.
