Fierce Love: A Bold Path to Ferocious Courage and Rule-Breaking Kindness That Can Heal the World

This debut by theologian Lewis is the kind of book that will inspire and encourage and may push readers out of their comfort zones. Lewis (senior minister of Collegiate Church in New York City and creator of the MSNBC online show Just Faith and the PBS show Faith and Justice) advocates a radically accepting brand of Christianity that finds its roots in her experience growing up as a Black child in the United States, a country that tolerates and rarely confronts racism and misogyny. The author also reveals the effects of her sometimes supportive, sometimes dysfunctional family life on her spiritual and emotional growth—a path that she says included a failed first marriage, a suicide attempt, and, ultimately, a PhD in psychology and religion and a career in the ministry. To explain her deep passion for activism, she writes: “My new religion is Love. Fierce Love. Period. This is all that matters.” The book’s autobiographical elements lend authenticity to Lewis’s writing.