James K. A. “Jamie” Smith is a very good writer. His latest effort, On the Road with Saint Augustine: A Real-World Spirituality for Restless Hearts, is among his best. Publishers Weekly declared it to be one of the 5 best books in religion for 2019 and Christianity Today declared it to be its award winner in the category of spiritual formation. Jamie is no stranger to Conversatio Divina readers. His book You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit, won the 2017 Martin Institute and Dallas Willard Research Center book award.
We were delighted that Jamie agreed to help us create an experience of On the Road with Saint Augustine as a resource on Conversatio Divina. If you like road trips, authentic conversation about spiritual formation, references to existential themes highlighted by excerpts from popular books and music, you will enjoy climbing in the car for this trip with Jamie. Along the way you might see something unexpected; a new sheen on Christianity’s tarnished image among many segments of modern culture. And note, we didn’t say you need to love the controversial saint, Augustine, before getting on board.
As a follow-up to You Are What You Love, On the Road with Augustine reveals how this ancient saint found answers for many of our modern woes and can be a tour guide to a spirituality that is not intimidated by our complex modern world. In the end, Jamie’s book on Augustine is not about the saint. It is a book about you.