From Goodreads:
This wry memoir tackles
twelve different spiritual practices in a quest to become more saintly,
including fasting, fixed-hour prayer, the Jesus Prayer, gratitude,
Sabbath-keeping, and generosity. Although Riess begins with great plans
for success (“Really, how hard could that be?” she asks blithely at the
start of her saint-making year), she finds to her growing humiliation
that she is failing—not just at some of the practices, but at every
single one. What emerges is a funny yet vulnerable story of the quest
for spiritual perfection and the reality of spiritual failure, which
turns out to be a valuable practice in and of itself.
(I can't get the cover image to upload for some reason.)
I remember hearing about Flunking Sainthood when it came out a couple years ago. I kind of avoided it because the author is Mormon and...I dunno. I'm prejudiced against my own kind? As it turns out, though, Riess takes an almost non-denominational Christian approach to her year of attempting sainthood. She never mentions specifically that she's Mormon (although clues are there) but tries to embrace a wide variety of spiritual practices, teaching and writings. The end result is a comfortable hodge-podge of faiths that feels homey, familiar and inclusive. This is likely because she's a convert married to a non-member and has spent time in Benedictine monasteries after attending a religious seminary. If there's anyone who could write such a cross-denominational approach to faith, it's her.
I came away from Flunking Sainthood interested in trying religious practices outside my faith tradition. I'm all about finding different pathways to Christ and it sounds like she found some good ones. I'd also like to try being more grateful and less judgmental (especially since I often accuse people of being judgey. Oh the irony). Despite Riess's insistence that she "flunked" her project, I found the whole thing inspiring and uplifting.
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