Beautiful and Terrible Things

Faith, Doubt, and Discovering a Way Back to Each Other

By: Amy Butler

Narrated by: Amy Butler

Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

From one of America’s most prominent ministers comes an inspiring, provocative reflection on the necessity of community, the inevitability of conflict, and the transformative power of radical love.

“I so love and admire the work and witness of Pastor Amy Butler.”—Anne Lamott

“Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don’t be afraid,” said theologian Frederick Buechner. Pastor Amy Butler, the first woman at the helm of New York’s historic Riverside Church, knows firsthand that to navigate such a world, one must be courageous, honest, and compassionate. In Beautiful and Terrible Things, Pastor Amy draws on the most meaningful, challenging, and soul-shaking moments of her own life to offer larger lessons on theology and relationships.

Pastor Amy grew up in a conservative Evangelical family in the diverse culture of the Hawaiian Islands. As she realized she was more inclined to be a pastor than to marry one, she began an unlikely journey, breaking one stained-glass ceiling after another. Holding increasingly high-profile ministry positions in New Orleans, Washington, D.C., and New York City, Amy weathered rigidly unwelcoming congregations and enormous trials, ultimately learning that only the radical love of community could generate healing. As she describes her experiences leading a church to publicly affirm its LGBTQ community members, losing a child, and undergoing an unexpected divorce, Amy offers a thoughtful lens on all the ways life can push us to see the world from another’s perspective. In her signature compassionate, witty voice, she offers fresh, nonjudgmental perspectives on faith—which, at its most beautiful expression, allows for the possibility that there is more than one way to experience God.

©2023 Amy Butler (P)2023 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“When I survey the state of institutional religion today, I find so many reasons to despair. But as Amy Butler reminds us, the church is not God. Informed by her deeply personal experiences, Beautiful and Terrible Things casts a vision for a wide-armed faith that is capable of making sense of these fractious and chaotic times. She fearlessly navigates white-hot cultural debates—from abortion to LGBTQ inclusion—with grace and humility, eschewing extremes and forging common ground. If you feel spiritually unmoored or religiously disillusioned, you’ll find more than a mustard seed of hope in the pages of this book. Amen and amen.”—Jonathan Merritt, award-winning author and contributing writer for The Atlantic

Loved it!

Loved that Pastor Amy is so brave and open to share some of her most private and painful moments with us. She is amazing!

Personal and Personally Challenging and Encouraging

Amy shares her story with vulnerability in a way that invites personal reflection and with the integration of honest, examined, humility in the challenges of faith.

Inspiring stories

Pastor Amy reads her book with all the passion she leads her life. The pain and joy of her leadership as a pathfinder for women of faith provide encouragement for all of us.

Terribly beautiful!

Beautifully vulnerable and brutally honest, Amy Butler’s gift for storytelling is evident throughout, sharing her experience and inviting us to name the beautiful and terrible things in our own lives!