I turn 40 today, and while there are a lot of great things about this birthday I’m especially excited to announce that this year a lifelong dream comes true. My first book, Finding God in All Films: A Contemplative Approach to Watching Movies will be published this November by Orbis Books!
The book is about watching movies as a spiritual practice, like lectio divina — or cinema divina, in this case. It’s an invitation to pay deep, sacred attention both to movies and to what happens inside of us as we watch them. Movies have a unique power to stir our hearts and imaginations, which makes them a perfect entryway to personal reflection and encountering God.
You don’t have to be a film buff or a spiritual guru to enjoy this book: you just need to love movies and be open to experiencing the sacred in unexpected ways. The title isn’t just an Ignatian joke, it’s meant to be a statement of welcome. This book (and this method) are for everyone who loves film, whether that means Bergman and Malick or Marvel and Pixar. My greatest hope is that it gives you some contemplative tools that you find useful and deepens your love for movies.
On a personal note, despite the fact that I’ve known about this for over a year now (I did, in fact, write the book) this is still pretty insane to me. I’ve wanted to be a published author since at least fifth grade, maybe earlier. I’m grateful for this opportunity and excited beyond words that this will soon be out in the world. I hope you enjoy it!
Finding God in All Films is out November 25 wherever fine books are sold. You can pre-order it now!
Also, fair warning that while there will be a brief respite, once we get closer to release I am going to be so annoying about this. If you pre-order I won’t be any less annoying, but at least you’ll be able to ignore my posts without feeling a tiny little sting of guilt. I’m just looking out for you, here!!
How am I spending my 40th birthday, aside from announcing my book (Finding God in All Films: A Contemplative Approach to Watching Movies which you can pre-order here, if you hadn’t heard)? Dinner and cake with my family tonight, and then on Saturday we’ve rented out a theater and invited people to watch one of my all-time favorites, The Princess Bride (1986). It’ll be my first time seeing it on the big screen, which is exciting in its own right!
They always make aging sound terrible and while it certainly has its drawbacks, I have to say that I’ve found each successive decade better than the last. I’m excited for what my forties have in store! But no matter what changes, I vow to continue bringing you the same caliber of movie insight, spiritual reflection, and extremely dumb humor that you’ve come to expect from me. Consider it my gift to you.
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