A Birthday Book Cover Reveal!

because I know you were wondering

Today is my birthday. According to the ponderous passage of time, I have reached level 36. Next year, I evolve into a grey-headed Charizard.

I’ve been sitting on the cover of my upcoming book—Finding Peace Here and Now: How Ignatian Spirituality Leads Us to Healing and Wholeness—for a little while now. The pre-order pages are even live (though full disclosure, the cover hasn’t populated yet).

I thought today’s occasion was a good one to share the cover, as well as some reflections on the project in general.

It’s silly to say that I’m really excited about this book. I mean, obviously, right? Why write a book you’re not excited about?

But this book resonates with my own spiritual journey in a particular way. The “study” of peace has been something I’ve danced around since my undergraduate days. Peacebuilding as a field seemed like the connective tissue I’d been looking for to bridge my disparate interests in theology, spirituality and international studies. I wrote no small number of essays on the topic in both undergraduate and graduate school. When I began working at Catholic Relief Services not long out of college, I assumed I was destined for peace work.

All these years later, that line on my resume remains open.

But here’s what I’ve learned—and in large part, why I wrote this book. The work of peace cannot be reduced to a professional title. It’s something we’re all called to, no matter our vocational paths or careers. It manifests itself in a million different ways. What’s more, peace isn’t something we pursue solely “out there”—though God knows there are plenty of corners of the world crying out for peace. But lasting peace, I believe, begins elsewhere. Peace has to be “in here;” we have to cultivate a disposition of self-love. We have to show ourselves compassion. We have to look with kindness on the people in our immediate circles. We have to love ourselves before we can love our neighbors before we can love strangers all around the world.

The painful thing I discovered in writing this book is just how lousy I am at the work of peace—both internally and externally, in my own heart and home and on the global stage. And so, this book itself is a prayerful journey, a slow and steady self-examination of the many places in our lives—yours, mine—in need of peace that we so often overlook. We have to diagnose our own failings before we can propose sustainable solutions. I’m not an expert practitioner in the work of peace, but I am a pilgrim along that path—and I hope you’ll come along with me.  

Because I only have so many tricks and no one is yet clamoring for the follow-up to My Life with the Jedi: The Spirituality of Star Wars (c’mon guys), this book is framed using the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. If you are familiar with the Exercises—or currently praying through them—and interested in layering in some peace work (and reexamining some of the more violent imagery), this book is for you. If you’re new to Ignatian Spirituality and looking for a primer, this book is for you. If you liked the spirituality of storytelling I teased out in Cannonball Moments: Telling Your Story, Deepening Your Faith, this book is for you. If you’re curious about my hottest takes on the 2023 animated Disney film, Wish—and how it might relate to peacebuilding—this book is for you.

Check out more on the publisher’s site or over at Amazon. (The cover will populate soon, I promise!) Finding Peace Here and Now: How Ignatian Spirituality Leads Us to Healing and Wholeness is due out from Brazos Press May 6, 2025.

And hey—if you want to get me a birthday present, pick up copies of My Life with the Jedi and Cannonball Moments for yourself and others…and please leave reviews!!

And another thing:

• I had a blast at

  LegendFiction
  ’s LegendHaven last weekend. If you want to check out the series of video presentations I offered on the writing life, hero’s journey and Ignatian spirituality aka “Jedi, Journeys & St. Ignatius,” scroll on down!

And hey, it’s almost Halloween. Still looking for a costume? Let me share some inspiration.