Following the Red Bird: First Steps Into a Life of Faith
About the Book
Until her conversion to Christianity in her mid-thirties, Kate Rademacher maintained a pick-and-choose approach to spirituality. The image from the book’s title, Following the Red Bird, becomes a metaphor for the ways Kate unexpectedly began to experience God in her life and how she slowly learned to follow the breadcrumbs that God seemed to be leaving out for her.
MEMOIR & MEDITATION
Part memoir and part meditation on Christian teachings, Following the Red Bird explores not only the why of Christianity but the how. How do we learn to listen for God’s voice? How do we develop and sustain a relationship with Jesus? How do we hear and heed God’s call? How do we apply Christian teachings to everyday life? Kate describes her journey of discovering answers to these questions one step at a time as she stumbled into a new life in the church. Kate's experience and insight will be relevant both to the searcher and the long-time believer.
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following the red bird was selected as a 2018 Eric Hoffer Book Award Shortlist Finalist
Praise for Following the Red Bird
"Rademacher’s memoir is an honest portrayal of the confusion of discernment and the comfort of abiding and trusting in God."
"This modern, succinct meditation on grace amply demonstrates that following God is an ongoing journey. Personal failings, distance, and constant efforts to return mark a faith that is flawed and genuine and all the more convincing for its humanness."
-Foreword Reviews, 5-heart review & selected as a Spotlight book (Religion)
"We live in a time in which we naturally distrust religious narratives by those who claim they have found God. I do not think that distrust will haunt any reader of this book because Kate Rademacher does not claim so much that she has found God but the God who Christians believe is Trinity has found her. Not only has she been found but she has been given something to do in service to the Kingdom. Hopefully this book will be read by believer and unbeliever alike because it is an honest narrative of a person of faith."
-Dr. Stanley Hauerwas, Gilbert T. Rowe Professor Emeritus of Divinity and Law at Duke University. Named America's Best Theologian by Time Magazine in 2001. Author of Hannah's Child: A Theologian's Memoir.
"Kate Rademacher's debut book is a refreshing take on why spirituality—particularly the Christian tradition—matters. Kate leads the reader on a rare journey of listening for God's voice amid a busy world that overwhelms us with its buffet of choice. Her poignant prose helps us understand the significance of the spiritual path for our lives."
- J. Dana Trent, author of Saffron Cross: The Unlikely Story of How a Christian Minister Married a Hindu Monk