An Autobiography in Biographies 1
A review of “Soul Survivor: How My Faith Survived the Church” by Philip Yancey
Yancey, Philip. Soul Survivor: How My Faith Survived the Church. London, Hodder & Stoughton, 2003.
Key Note: This series may interest you more if you are a writer. However, it seeks to show the power of literature. Also, it seeks to show how our lives are like books read by people around us.
The book feeding this series is Soul Survivor: How My Faith Survived the Church by Philip Yancey. I discovered Yancey from a book review. From that review, I figured his writings covered subjects I am quite interested in—primarily, issues on the intersection of faith and culture.
I first started reading the book during a writing project. I had read two chapters in the book on the day I purchased it out of sheer curiosity about the subjects. In fact, the book was some sort of chance purchase: I had resolved to not buy another book after the one I first purchased that day at the store. The content I glimpsed while flipping the pages held me until I paid for it. Its value became known to me only about two weeks ago.
The first book I read by Yancey was Vanishing Grace, where he sought to answer the singular question: “What ever happened to the good news?” He discusses extensively what the popular perceptions of Christians are, how Christians feed those perceptions, how it impedes or advances the course of Christians as light and salt of the earth
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Having read a bit more from and about Yancey, I noticed he now has a spot on the list of authors I appreciate and admire—for the sake of the craft, at least. He shares an excerpt from Annie Dillard’s The Writing Life:
Writers read literary biography, and surround themselves with other writers, deliberately to enforce in themselves the ludircrous notion that a reasonable option for occupying yourself on the planet until your life span plays itself out sitting in a small room for the duration , in the company of pieces of paper.
Though I still have doubts calling myself a writer, I find myself attracted to literary biographies. Soul Survivor is yet another literary biography: Yancey shares biographical accounts of thirteen authors who have significant impact on his life, especially on his faith. Reconsider the subtitle: “How my faith survived the church”. In the book, you will find places where he said a book helped refuel his faith when it feels like his faith is dying out. Or where he shared that after a conversation with one of the thirteen subjects he stopped viewing writing as a hobby, but more as a calling just as the subject considers it too.
In the subsequent parts of this series—about two more to come—I will share a brief outline of the thirteen subjects Yancey covers in the book; their backgrounds, their works, the impact they had on him (especially his writing) and also, the impression they had on me while reading.
Certainly, I think someone who is not a writer can also see the value of literature (the written word) and appreciate it. At least, you should be able to by the end of this series. For me, I am excited about having a glimpse into the reading life of a respectable author. Ultimately, I hope that sharing this will make you also see the need to not just let moments slip by; that you will come about wanting to leave some more written notes as you learn through life while leaving a life worthy of documentation.
On Wednesday, I read a friend’s testament on his birthday; of how a short note scribbled on all his father’s books became a guide for him into the happy life his father had lived. And guess what . . . it was a ‘simple note’, a Bible verse.
It doesn’t have to be a deep intellectual musing; I encourage you to write a little more—a sentence a day, to preserve unforgettable memories, and ultimately to serve posterity some good.
See you in the next parts of this series.
Wishing you the very best in all your endeavours, dear Fellow.
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