Leaving Church

A Memoir of Faith

By: Barbara Brown Taylor

Narrated by: Karen Saltus

After nine years serving on the staff of a big urban church in Atlanta, Barbara Brown Taylor arrives in rural Clarkesville, Georgia (population 1,500), following her dream to become the pastor of her own small congregation. The adjustment from city life to country dweller is something of a shock - Taylor is one of the only professional women in the community - but small-town life offers many of its own unique joys. Taylor has five successful years that see significant growth in the church she serves, but ultimately she finds herself experiencing "compassion fatigue" and wonders what exactly God has called her to do. She realizes that in order to keep her faith she may have to leave.

Taylor describes a rich spiritual journey in which God has given her more questions than answers. As she becomes part of the flock instead of the shepherd, she describes her poignant and sincere struggle to regain her footing in the world without her defining collar. Taylor's realization that this may in fact be God's surprising path for her leads her to a refreshing search to find Him in new places. Leaving Church will remind even the most skeptical among us that life is about both disappointment and hope - and ultimately, renewal.

©2006 Barbara Brown Taylor (P)2011 HarperCollins Publishers

Wonderfully moving story of openness, faith and burnout.

Barbara Brown Taylor expresses what so many of us are feeling. We long for something we can’t quite put into words and seek to meet that longing by committing to work we believe in. When our efforts are not enough, we try harder, driving ourselves and those around us to suffer, and losing the joy to which we are called.

Her beautiful, compassionate writing and her gentle humor let me go deeper into things I hadn’t fully articulated. I felt seen, cared for and set free.

Extraordinary!

Would you consider the audio edition of Leaving Church to be better than the print version?

I did not read the print version

What was one of the most memorable moments of Leaving Church?

When BBT began speaking of the difference between the life of faith and the life of "Mother Church," and the demands Mother Church places on the person of faith -- demands which can negatively nuance the person's faith walk.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

I loved the fact that the reader had some characteristics (like over-pronounced consonants at the ends of words) that characterize BBT's speaking style. I did not care for the reader's predictable inflections, which gave the narration a "sing-song" quality.

loved it,

Well written. Helps one to get out of the traditional "safe" boxes of life to enter into the greater life that God has offered to each of us.

A good read.

Leaving Church was excellent. Barbara told her journey into spirituality and becoming an ordained minister and on to leaving ministry and her relationship with God throughout. As a therapist, I can relate to caregiver fatigue, even when you love what you do. I have also chased my spirituality sometimes doing better without being tied to a church, and sometimes needing what a church can provide. This provided some excellent perspective. I highly recommend!

Engaged me head, heart, faith and bodily

Perhaps it’s because I’ve been on a similar journey - but I know these are salient questions for many… BBT shares here in a way that helps me ponder, wonder and heal.

I do prefer it when she personally reads, but
Can’t complain about this narrator.

I’m really grateful for this “offering “

Good account, lovingly written, tritely read

Taylor's open account of her personal struggle with vocation is a lovely read. Her way with words is as vivid as ever. The narration however makes the book seem trivial and affected. I yearn to listen to Barbara read this herself.

Not her best but still good

I’ve read several things by BBT all very well written as is this. But this doesn’t have the power of Learning to Walk in the Dark. At least not for me, but still worth the time.

Barbara Brown Taylor at her best

What made the experience of listening to Leaving Church the most enjoyable?

The writers experiences are relevant and applicable for a Christian seeking to actually follow Jesus of Nazereth in 21st century America

Who was your favorite character and why?

The author herself

Which scene was your favorite?

Her surprise that God's beautiful world of nature is still there to inspire if one looks hard enough

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It is great to know others are on the same pilgrimage

The "Voice" of the reader was cringe-worthy!

I love Barbara Brown-Taylor's work and this book was no exception. I find her authentic and relatable.
The book itself is brilliant.
However.. listening to whomever was chosen to read this book was akin to fingernails on a chalkboard. The voice was inappropriately sweet and condescending for a topic that is often wrenchingly painful for people living it.
Did the "voice" read this book prior to her recitation? Did she consider the context, audience, and purpose?
It was so terrible to listen to her sing-song glib intonations that I found this audio version of the book nearly impossible to stomach. UGH!
For those of us for whom "leaving church" has been an oft painful journey with questions and self-doubt at nearly every turn I felt almost a mocking tone from the reader. Horrible choice for the "voice" and such a shame for a brilliant book

Well Read -- Little Long

Good autobiography of her calling and discernment. Some of the nuggets got lost in the over writing of details and story telling that took away from the narrative.