Skip to main content

Book Review: My Story, His Glory

Editor's Note: Thsi review was originally published in Manhattan Book Review.

Nathaniel X. Arnold


My Story, His Glory is Nathaniel X. Arnold’s compelling memoir of his conversion and fall from faith, exploration of diverse spiritual paths, and finding his way back to the Christian fold. Arnold’s autobiography is profoundly reflective of his youth in Alabama and the Washington, DC area in the years immediately following the Civil Rights Movement. Arnold explains his awakening to spirituality through prophecies in the Book of Revelations, as told by an aunt who is a devout follower of the Seventh-Day Adventists. Pivotal experiences of racism in adulthood created a yearning in Arnold to seek other truths, including forays into the occult. Personal and business issues abound. Hard lessons paved the path for redemption and finding his way back to the faith of his youth.

My Story, His Glory is an engaging read for anyone who has experienced an evolution in their spiritual journey. Arnold writes about his experiences as a young Black man in the early 1970s, eager to embrace the promise of equality. Recognizing that the church continued to discriminate against Black people, he found refuge in pro-Black sojourners who melded African Indigenous traditions with New Age sensibilities. The memoir is a fascinating window into one person’s cultural and personal discovery as they dove headlong into the Black Power movement. Arnold’s testimony of faith is a hopeful reminder of the reclamation of one’s true life purpose.

Buy from Capital Books

 

Popular posts from this blog

Medicine Wheel for the Planet

Jennifer Grenz, PhD       Working toward ecological healing requires awareness of how Indigenous ancestral knowledge and living ways can complement Western scientific approaches to environmental restoration and protection practices. Dr. Jennifer Grenz (Nlaxa’pamux mixed ancestry) worked for more than two decades as a field researcher and practitioner for environmental nonprofit organizations, where she worked with different levels of government, including First Nations in Canada. "Medicine Wheel for the Planet" compiles Grenz’s most potent realizations about the lack of forward movement in addressing an impending ecological catastrophe.  A warming climate impacts not only human lives but also the natural balance that relies on reciprocal relationships rooted in deep connections to the land. She uses the metaphor of the four directions of the Indigenous “medicine wheel” to invite openness to Indigenous teachings, letting go of colonial narratives, merging lessons f...
Read more

Memento - Embracing the Darkness

Dennis "Dizzy" Doan Stories about overcoming and persevering through family dysfunction, poverty, and mental health challenges offer hope and the promise of better days. Dennis “Dizzy” Doan’s memoir Memento: Embracing the Darkness is one such story, with the added complexity of being raised in an immigrant Vietnamese family. Doan’s parents dealt with the mental and emotional aftermath of war, which forcibly uprooted them from their homeland. In the United States, they struggled to create a safe and stable life for their two sons. Doan shares his journey of finding himself, his craft, and eventually a successful tattoo business in Southern California despite personal strife and run-ins with the law. Doan is best known for developing the aesthetic language to combat anti-Asian hate that erupted during the COVID-19 pandemic. His art series titled “Model Minority” went viral, sparking conversation about Asian American identities and harmful stereotypes. In Memento, Doan showcase...
Read more

Enlighten Me

Editor's Note: This review was originally published in Los Angeles Book Review . Author Minh Lê Standing up for oneself seems like doing the right thing. Binh did just that in the face of a racist school bully who was poking fun at his Asian heritage. But physically assaulting another student goes against school policy, and it was Binh who got in trouble. Binh shares a silent retreat with his family and younger siblings. Along with other children, he learns about stories from the previous lives of the Buddha. The stories are interesting, but for Binh, it is difficult to sit still and clear his mind when he misses his Gameboy. While he struggles with silence, he learns important lessons about friendship, community, and being present. In the graphic novel "Enlighten Me," award-winning author Minh Lê and bestselling illustrator Chan Chau tell the story of a boy who gains a better understanding of himself as he works on quieting the mind and reflecting on dharma. Lê and Ch...
Read more