A Sense of Wonder, edited by Brian Doyle

This “best of” volume contains an impressive array of spiritual writing. Its essays, all of which have been published in Portland Magazine since 2003, give readers a glimpse into the aesthetic and theological sensibilities of editor Brian Doyle. More important, they model how to write well about faith, doubt, trauma, grace, sin, death, and beauty. From Mary Gordon to Edward Hoag­land, Cynthia Ozick to Thomas Lynch, these authors set forth equal measures of realism and hope. As Alice Lok Cahana, an Auschwitz survivor, explains, “God says to us, . . . I can create you, but I cannot do it all. You have to help Me fix the holes and put everything together.”