The Language of the Soul

February 20, 2023
Crosby, president of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, debuts with a thought-provoking consideration of human longing. All humans carry “deep seeded longings... in our hearts,” muses the author, and here he examines 10 such yearnings—including for home, forgiveness, peace, community, and heaven—in chapters that mix personal anecdote and religious insight. In the chapter on longing for community, the author writes of how he itched for connection amid the social division of the months following the 2016 election. He and his wife organized a regular gathering at their home for friends and neighbors to share a meal and connect by discussing books. Even an act as seemingly banal as this, says Crosby, engages Jesus’s command to “bear one another’s burdens.” Another chapter discusses the desire for a “spiritual friendship” that is unconstrained by “boundaries, social cues, expectations” and helps one “pay attention to God.” Crosby includes a playlist inspired by each longing, and reflection questions appear throughout. Though the writing sometimes meanders, readers who can look past the loose structure will be won over by Crosby’s emotionally resonant insights and soulful prose. Believers will find this affecting.