Searching for Sunday is, The Psychiatry Resource declares, “both memoir and catharsis of the author’s struggle to find connection and meaning with…the Church.” “Perhaps every pilgrim in search of church has wondered if it’s a lifetime of feeling his way through the dark, longing for light,” Rachel Held Evans writes on the last page. She was a renowned Christian columnist, blogger, speaker, and best-selling author—all of which was cut short by her sudden death in 2019 at age 37.

Blogger Tanya Marlow finds Evans’ story “so astutely observed that it feels universal. She perfectly captures the lonely experience of grief, anger, and defensive cynicism that accompanies a crisis of faith.” Another blogger, “Sara Laughed,” pictured the book as “a testament to both her writing ability and her way of getting to the heart of the matter…. I often found myself saying, ‘Yes. Me, too.’”

As Evans recounts, “I conducted this massive inventory of my faith, tearing every doctrine from the cupboard and turning each one over in my hand.” As theologymix.com has it, “Evans tells the truth. Her voice speaks for thousands who are feeling the same doubts, concerns, and fears, but who simply leave without voicing them.”

Searching for Sunday: Loving, Leaving, and Finding the Church
By Rachel Held Evans
Nelson Books, 2015