The Best Spiritual Writing 2010

Let's flex our spiritual muscles in 2010, expanding our awareness of the many religious perspectives around us. Even if our own path runs deep in a particular tradition, glimpsing different vantage points can help refine our own vision. And who can argue with a collection that includes pieces by Diane Ackerman, Seamus Heaney, Robert Pinsky and John Updyke--and comes with glowing recommendations from Thomas Lynch and Phyllis Tickle!?! Remember that exercising our muscles involves some aches and pains and I can't imagine a single reader who won't want to pick a bone with at least a few of the writers in this collection. I know that, from my perspective, there are a couple of writers in this book who drive me crazy. Yet, here they are in this rich pot of stew simmering nicely for us as the new year dawns. And that's precisely what makes this such a hearty and, as Thomas Lynch puts it, "soul-bracing" collection.