Leah Libresco - Arriving at Amen: Seven Catholic Prayers That Even I Can Offer (Atheist Conversion) [EPUB, MOBI, PDF]

In 2012, media outlets from CNN to EWTN announced that Leah Libresco, a gifted young intellectual, columnist, and prolific blogger on the Atheist channel on Patheos, was converting to Catholicism. In Arriving at Amen, Libresco uses the rigorous rationality that defined her Atheism to tell the story behind that very personal journey and to describe the seven forms of Catholic prayer that guided her to embrace a joyful life of faith.

As a Yale graduate, Libresco launched her writing career by blogging about science, literature, mathematics, and morality from a distinctively secular perspective. Over time, encounters with friends and associates caused her to concede the reasonableness of belief in God in theory, though not yet in practice.

In Arriving at Amen, Libresco uniquely describes the second part of her spiritual journey, in which she encountered God through seven classic Catholic forms of prayer—Liturgy of the Hours, lectio divina, examen, intercessory prayer, the Rosary, confession, and the Mass. Examining each practice through the intellectual lens of literature, math, and art, Libresco reveals unexpected glimpses of beauty and truth in the Catholic Church that will be appreciated by the curious and convinced alike.

Reviews

"Atheist convert Leah Libresco is well-known for her sharp mind, dogged curiosity, and fresh perspective on faith. Arriving at Amen puts those gifts on full display. Her reflections on prayer and the spiritual journey are brilliant, unique, and utterly refreshing. With this book, Leah hasn't just arrived at Amen; she's arrived as one of the premier young Catholic writers today." --Brandon Vogt, Author of Saints and Social Justice

"At once a conversion story and a practical treatise of the exploration of prayer, Arriving at Amen is a surprising little gem of a book, so fresh and insightful it belies Leah Libresco's status as a recent convert to Catholicism. Arriving at Amen literally made me gasp, because I suddenly realized I was holding a diamond; the most intellectually stimulating, humbling, and entertaining Catholic book I have read in a very, very long time." --Elizabeth Scalia, Catholic blogger and author of Strange Gods

"Direct, uncluttered, and full of spiritual insight, Leah Libresco's singularly helpful book is for anyone seeking a deeper and richer and more reflective life of faith." --R. R. Reno, Editor of First Things

"Leah Libresco's account of her journey of faith is a wonderful gift. Whether it's music or math, dancing or pottery, she uses personal experiences to show us how to develop a daily life of ever-deepening prayer. This book is a delight to read." --Scott Hahn, Bestselling author of Angels and Saints

"Reading Leah Libresco's book is like being taken on a tour of your home town by a brilliant, quirky guide who helps you see everything anew. Arriving at Amen is a delightfully refreshing read that will help any Catholic see the Faith through new eyes." --Jennifer Fulwiler, Author of Something Other Than God

"Arriving at Amen is weird and winsome: a thoughtful and humble exploration of Catholic practice and prayer. . . . This book will give you a new perspective on the faith." --Eve Tushnet, Author of Gay and Catholic

About the Author

I grew up as an atheist on Long Island. When I went to college, I picked fights with the most interesting wrong people I could find -- which turned out to be the campus Catholics. After reading an awful lot of books, years of late-night debates (the kinds that tended to include sentences like "Ok, imagine for the moment that God is a cylinder..."), and a fair amount of blogging, I was surprised but pleased to find out that I'd been wrong about religion, generally, and Catholicism in particular, and I was received into the Catholic Church in the winter of 2012. Nowadays, I blog daily on religion, philosophy (and as many theatre reviews as I can get away with) for Patheos at Unequally Yoked: A Geeky Convert Picks Fights in Good Faith.