Acclaimed Episcopal priest, Barbara Brown Taylor, finds herself after twenty years of pastoring "burnt out" and in need of spiritual reflection. She decides rather abruptly to leave, with the permission of the Bishop, and to take time to explore the "edges" of Christianity and spirituality, after years of explaining and proclaiming the "center."

Her journey is personal, yet universal, a time of searching and seeking, rethinking old assumptions and beliefs and exploring the very foundations of life. No one can read this book without finding nuggets of thought, of challenges to one's own life, of questions and explorations of our own faith journey.

Some have found her thinking infected by "New Age" philosophy and other uncommon spiritual approaches leading her away from the central truths of Christianity. I found her thinking profound and provocative, a strengthening of faith rather than the opposite. The book is especially recommended to church members and officials because in some telling passages she relates how difficult it is to relate to church members on a casual basis in that many believe they have to assume a mantle of religious thought and themes, rather than just be themselves, when talking to clergypersons.

She is a fine writer, sometimes poetic, never tiresome nor pedantic. Highly recommended for the permanent bookshelf of books to pick up now and then when your batteries are low.

This memoir by Barbara Taylor was quite insightful of the role of clergy in today's world. Her message of ministering to mankind are refreshing. Serving God and others does not have to take place in a church but can be done where ever we go. As disciples of Christ we need to serve each other in our homes,communities and our world. I read this book to prepare for a visit of the author to our church. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the book. I look forward to meeting and hearing Barbara Taylor in person. Christians of any denomination would enjoy this book.

Barbara Brown Taylor's "Leaving Church" is a vivid memoir describing her journey from being an Episcopal priest to living in Nature. Taylor, ironically, is still teaching about religion, though she is no longer a religious. She has been laicized. Her departure from the ordained ministry reflects the current divisions within the Episcopal Church (USA).

Taylor's "Leaving Church" illuminates,like a medieval manuscript,the life of an ordained woman within ECUSA,as well as in a part of the country where female pastors aren't that much accepted. ECUSA has ordained women for three decades, but there are still dioceses--and people--that resist. It's fascinating to see the women's ordination issue from a woman's firsthand perspective. The description of her ordination is powerful. She briefly mentions the LGBT issues within ECUSA as well, reflecting that the pastors who mentored her might very well have been gay. Unfortunately,she is far too brief in describing the debates within her parish.

"Leaving Church" ends with Taylor,no longer an ordained priest,living as a priestess within Nature. No longer governed by the liturgical cycle, she lives by Nature's cycles. "Leaving Faith" leaves the reader hungry for more.

I'm one of those "great generation" representatives who fell away from the organized Christian church in my young adulthood after an excellent religious and theological grounding in my youth. I never found a way or reason to return, although I remained very spiritual. This book, which I have read twice now, was very much like being with a fellow traveler although our needs and experiences were different. I strongly recommend that anyone on the religious spectrum read it for an honest spiritual path that is not quite the norm but still on the path.

This gracefully written narrative tells the story of Taylor's journey toward ordained ministry, her years as an Episcopal priest, and her departure from that life into a new vocation as a college professor. She decides that the most important calling is not to be ordained or to be religious, but to be fully human and to live a life of love. This is a touching autobiography, an eloquent memoir of faith.