Reimagining the Good Life with Amy Julia Becker

While Jesus welcomed the disabled, the poor, and the outcast, Christian communities are often spaces of exclusion. Dr. Amy Kenny is a disabled scholar, a Shakespeare Lecturer, and the author of My Body Is Not a Prayer Request. In this conversation, she talks with Amy Julia Becker about disability, the church, ableism, and creating communities of belonging.___GIVEAWAYRate and review this podcast on your favorite podcast platform. Then go here and fill out the form to enter the giveaway for the To Be Made Well audiobook! ___Guest Bio:"Amy Kenny is a disabled scholar and a Shakespeare Lecturer who hates Hamlet. She serves on the mayor’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Taskforce in her home city, coordinates support for people experiencing homelessness in her neighborhood, and is currently co-launching Jubilee Homes OC, a permanent supportive housing initiative in her local community. She is a Scribe for Freedom Road Institute and believes that every human is an image-bearer worthy of belonging. "For full show notes, go to: amyjuliabecker.com/amy-kenny/___Season 5 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my newest book, To Be Made Well...you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day, as well as a video with closed captions on my YouTube Channel.We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening!

How do we rest in a restless world? Kate Rademacher, public health expert and author of Reclaiming Rest, talks with Amy Julia Becker about rest, burnout, healing, social justice, and the difference between religious and secular approaches to rest.GUEST BIO:“A graduate of Wesleyan University in Connecticut and the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Kate Rademacher's professional work is focused on international public health. Kate is the author of three books.”For full show notes, go to: amyjuliabecker.com/kate-rademacher/To Be Made Well audiobook___Season 5 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my newest book, To Be Made Well...you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day, as well as a video with closed captions on my YouTube Channel.We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening!

How do we reclaim personhood and relationships in a technological world? Andy Crouch, author of The Life We’re Looking For, talks with me about technology and what it means to be a person. We conclude our conversation with daily practices to help us reflect the truth that we are designed in and for love.Guest Bio:Andy Crouch is partner for theology and culture at Praxis, an organization that works as a creative engine for redemptive entrepreneurship. His writing explores faith, culture, and the image of God in the domains of technology, power, leadership, and the arts. He is the author of five books (plus another with his daughter, Amy Crouch).For full show notes, go to: amyjuliabecker.com/andy-crouch/___Season 5 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my newest book, To Be Made Well...you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day, as well as a video with closed captions on my YouTube Channel.We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening!

When we need healing, is medicine the only solution? Dr. Matthew Loftus talks with Amy Julia Becker about both the limits and the role of medicine connected to healing, wholeness, and community.  Guest Bio:Dr. Matthew Loftus teaches and practices Family Medicine in Baltimore and East Africa. His work has been featured in Mere Orthodoxy, Christianity Today, Plough, Comment, and other publications.For full show notes, go to: amyjuliabecker.com/matthew-loftus___Season 5 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my newest book, To Be Made Well...you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day, as well as a video with closed captions on my YouTube Channel.We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening!

In a society that pursues happiness at all costs, how do we cultivate contentment? Niro Feliciano, psychotherapist and author of This Book Won’t Make You Happy, talks with Amy Julia Becker about the keys to finding true contentment.Bio:Niro Feliciano is a psychotherapist, podcast host, national media commentator, and expert on anxiety, brain science, and spirituality. She holds a master’s degree in social work from Columbia University and is a columnist for Psychology Today. A first-generation Sri Lankan American, she lives with her family in Fairfield County, Connecticut. For full show notes, go to: amyjuliabecker.com/niro-feliciano__Season 5 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my newest book, To Be Made Well...you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day, as well as a video with closed captions on my YouTube Channel.We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening!

What if I feel disappointed with God? Does grief play a role in healing? Is racial reconciliation a work of healing? Katherine Wolf and David Bailey join me for a conversation celebrating the book launch of To Be Made Well. We talk about the multidimensional nature of healing, and then we respond to questions from launch party guests at the end as we reflect on healing and hardship and hope in our personal lives and our society. For show notes and guests' bios, go to:amyjuliabecker.com/to-be-made-well-conversation___Season 5 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my newest book, To Be Made Well...you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day, as well as a video with closed captions on my YouTube Channel.We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening!

For anyone struggling with pain or loss, for anyone concerned about the things that divide us, this episode—this book— is for you. It’s launch day for my latest book, To Be Made Well. I'm celebrating by sharing an excerpt with you! I hope you enjoy it, and if you think of other people who might find this relevant and helpful in their own lives, please pass it along to them as well.You can find more info about To Be Made Well here.“From hurting bodies and souls to hurting relationships and communities, it’s clear that things are not as they should be. The gospels brim with stories of Jesus healing people, but what does that mean for us today? In To Be Made Well, author Amy Julia Becker weaves together her own story with reflections on biblical accounts of Jesus’ healing work, providing fresh insight into both the nature of healing and the pathway to healing, then and now. This book is a powerful invitation to personal, spiritual, and social healing as we reconnect to our bodies and souls, to God, and to our communities.For anyone struggling with pain or loss, for anyone concerned about the things that divide us, this book goes beyond wellness and beyond miraculous physical transformations to explore how we can—personally and collectively—be made well.”___Recording is from To Be Made Well: An Invitation to Wholeness, Healing, and Hope by Amy Julia Becker. Used by permission of Herald Press. All rights reserved.A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day.We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening!

The effects of trauma often surface in our embodied existence. What about hope? Cole Arthur Riley, author of This Here Flesh and creator of Black Liturgies, talks with Amy Julia Becker about bearing witness to the pain of the world through our bodies, the healing found in belonging, and the importance of weaving together self-care and community-care for social healing.SHOW NOTES AND GIVEAWAYView full show notes and transcript from this episode, plus book giveaway info: amyjuliabecker.com/cole-arthur-rileyGUEST BIO“Cole Arthur Riley is a writer, liturgist, and speaker seeking a deeply contemplative life marked by embodiment and emotion. She is the founder and writer of Black Liturgies, a project seeking to integrate concepts of dignity, lament, rage, justice, rest, and liberation with the practice of written prayer.”___*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day, as well as a video with closed captions on my YouTube Channel.We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening!

In a world of pain, can one person—one action—make a difference? Becca Stevens, author of Practically Divine, talks with Amy Julia Becker about the healing available through the practice, practicality, and presence of love within community.SHOW NOTES:Go to amyjuliabecker.com/becca-stevens/ for complete show notes, transcript, and BOOK GIVEAWAY info.GUEST BIO:“Becca Stevens is a speaker, social entrepreneur, author, priest, founder of ten non-profit justice initiatives, and President of Thistle Farms. She has been featured on PBS NewsHour, The Today Show, CNN, ABC World News, named a CNN Hero, and White House Champion of Change. Drawing from 25 years of leadership in mission-driven work, Becca leads important conversations across the country with an inspiring message that love is the strongest force for change in the world. Her newest book is Practically Divine, published by Harper Horizons.”____Season 5 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my newest book, To Be Made Well, releasing Spring 2022...you can pre-order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day, as well as a video with closed captions on my YouTube Channel.We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening!

Learning the history of enslavement and racism illuminates the path to repentance and repair. Lisa Sharon Harper, leading faith and race activist and author of Fortune, joins Amy Julia Becker and looks at the power and beauty of her ancestors, the ways that America’s race and enslavement laws broke her family (and our nation), and why there is hope for healing.SHOW NOTES:Go to amyjuliabecker.com/lisa-sharon-harper/ for complete show notes, transcript, and BOOK GIVEAWAY info.GUEST BIO:“Lisa Sharon Harper (LSMA, Columbia University; MFA, University of Southern California) is the founder of Freedom Road, a consulting group dedicated to shrinking the narrative gap. A sought-after speaker, trainer, and consultant, Harper has written several books, including Fortune: How Race Broke My Family and the World and How to Repair It All and the critically acclaimed The Very Good Gospel: How Everything Wrong Can Be Made Right. She has researched her family's origins for three decades and presented on her ancestors' achievements at the African American Civil War Museum. Harper lives in the same Philadelphia neighborhood where three generations of her ancestors lived.”___*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day, as well as a video with closed captions on my YouTube Channel.We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!Connect with me: Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening!