Godstruck - by Kelsey Osgood (Hardcover)

About the Book

"A candid, thought-provoking exploration of contemporary women's experiences of religious conversion and the relationship between faith and fulfillment in our time In recent decades, Americans have become less likely to identify with any organized religion. Yet 70 percent of U.S. adults describe themselves as spiritual in some way or say that spirituality is very important in their lives. In an era marked by atomization, polarization, and rapid change, the enduring questions of how to find community and purpose and live a meaningful life haven't gone away-they've become more urgent and crucial. In Godstruck, Kelsey Osgood profiles seven young women from various backgrounds-some raised firmly atheist, others agnostic or religious-charting independent paths into organized religion in adulthood and wrestling with the complexities of their choices. From Angela, a data-driven writer and journalist who finds herself undeniably drawn to Quaker meetings, to Hana, whose conversion to Islam leads her halfway around the world, to Christina, whose Amish faith transforms her relationship to modernity, these women's unexpected revelations introduce them to new and sometimes radically different ways of living. Along the way, Osgood charts a fascinating course through a wide range of cultural, historical, and psychological references-from Saint Augustine, Simone Weil, and Tolstoy to desert hermits, Alcoholics Anonymous, and contemporary feminism-to explore some of our various attempts to understand and cope with the human condition. Driven by a profound curiosity and anchored by intimate reporting and Osgood's own transformative conversion experience, Godstruck is a provocative, insightful, and refreshingly nuanced exploration of both the joys and the challenges of faith that reveals what these seekers can teach us about modern life and our own search for meaning"--

Book Synopsis

A candid, thought-provoking exploration of contemporary women's experiences of religious conversion and the relationship between faith and fulfillment in our time

Religious involvement has been declining in the West for decades--and, though men have historically outnumbered women among the disaffiliated in the U.S., a greater share of the young adults leaving religion today are women. A young, secular Kelsey Osgood would have been surprised to hear that she would be among those moving in the opposite direction. And yet, after the conversion to Orthodox Judaism that transformed her life, she began to wonder about the other contemporary women who, like her, had been startled to find a home in organized religion.

In Godstruck, she profiles six other converts--some raised firmly atheist, others agnostic or religious--navigating independent paths to religious devotion. From Angela, a data-driven writer and journalist who finds herself drawn to Quaker meetings, to Hana, whose conversion to Islam leads her halfway around the world, to Christina, whose Amish faith transforms her relationship to modernity, these women's unexpected revelations introduce them to new and sometimes radically different ways of living. Along the way, Osgood charts a fascinating course through a wide range of cultural references--from Saint Augustine, Simone Weil, and Tolstoy to desert hermits, Alcoholics Anonymous, and contemporary feminism--to explore some of our attempts to understand and cope with the mysteries of life and the human condition.

Driven by a profound curiosity and anchored by intimate reporting, Godstruck is a provocative, insightful, and refreshingly nuanced exploration of both the joys and the challenges of faith that reveals what these seekers can teach all of us about modern life and our own searches for meaning.

Review Quotes

Praise for Godstruck

"A lyrical, philosophically astute account . . . 'Godstruck' is an affirming [tale] about the value of understanding ourselves as part of a wider community of seekers: a community that, in asking the big questions about God, the universe--everything--is also doing the most important work of being human. Acknowledging that these questions have mattered for the entirety of human history, Ms. Osgood suggests, can bring us into a far more authentic relationship with ourselves than any $88 etheric cleansing could provide . . . Ms. Osgood gives us no final answers. But she does give us the tools to see how the process of questioning might bring her subjects closer to the truth." --The Wall Street Journal

"It is no easy feat to write about some­one else's spir­i­tu­al life while main­tain­ing objec­tiv­i­ty, but Kelsey Osgood has man­aged just that... Osgood uses the con­verts' sto­ries as a spring­board to pro­vide an overview of each faith, as well as to offer her own cogent and thought­ful analy­sis and com­men­tary on orga­nized reli­gion, both his­tor­i­cal­ly and mod­ern-day... the sto­ries are braid­ed like a chal­lah, each indi­vid­ual strand wrapped up with and con­nect­ed to the others... This is not a book about right and wrong or about ques­tions and answers. Rather, it is sim­ply a book about ques­tions. In that sense, it is a very Jew­ish book, indeed." --Jewish Book Council

"A thoughtful group biography of seven women who have taken the 'wildly countercultural' step of embracing organized religion, after growing up outside of or minimally connected to it . . . These absorbing biographies offer a deep dive into particular faith groups as well as a growing cultural trend." --Shelf Awareness

"A fresh look at the appeal of religious conversion... you'll be drawn to these stories. Osgood is a good and curious reporter; she tells them with flair. Their experiences may leave you understanding conversion -- your own or someone else's -- differently." --Spirituality & Practice

"Riveting accounts of connection and faith."--Hadassah

"Fans of Kate Bowler and Anne Lamott will appreciate Osgood's thoughtful, engaging examination of a timely topic." --Booklist

"Illuminating . . . an intimate and often moving look at faith's enduring appeal." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Ambition, work, family, happiness--are these secular longings all there is to life? Anyone who has asked themselves this question will be moved and unsettled by these seven women seeking God and finding faith in the most traditional--which, for them, means also unlikely and countercultural--of places." --Larissa MacFarquhar, author of Strangers Drowning: Impossible Idealism, Drastic Choices, and the Urge to Help

"I love this beautifully written, thoughtful, sensitive, prismatic book. Recursive, gracious, intelligent, and heartfelt, like Rachel Aviv meets C.S. Lewis in the grand tradition of Elaine Pagels and Abraham Joshua Heschel, it's a necessary and vital reminder that real open-mindedness can take many unpredictable forms. Essential reading for the curious and the skeptical alike." --Elisa Albert, author of The Snarling Girl and Other Essays

About the Author

Kelsey Osgood is a graduate of Columbia University and Goucher College's creative nonfiction MFA program. Her work has appeared in New York, The New Yorker, Time, Harper's Maga­zine, and elsewhere. Her first book, How to Disappear Completely: On Modern Anorexia, was chosen for the Barnes & Noble Discover program.