by Lyz Lenz
First published 2019
Following the 2016 election, journalist and mother Lyz Lenz watches her marriage crumble and her community fracture along lines of faith and politics. A Christian living in middle America, Lenz finds herself surrounded by empty churches and broken relationships. She embarks on a journey across the heartland to understand what happened to religious life in America's center. Her travels take her from small drugstores in Sydney, Iowa, to rural Illinois shooting ranges to massive Minneapolis megachurches. Along the way, she meets ordinary believers struggling to keep their congregations alive in an unstable world. Part personal memoir and part investigative journalism, Lenz's exploration examines how religion shapes individual lives, marriages, and the broader American landscape. She seeks to understand whether the deep divisions tearing apart families and communities can ever heal, and if a fractured nation might find common ground again.
Genres: contemporary, social-issues, religion, memoir, non-fiction
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: personal-journey, social-commentary
Setting: Iowa, Illinois, Minneapolis, Middle America
Period: 2016 Election
168 pages · Hardcover · Indiana University Press