United States of Grace
A Memoir of Homelessness, Addiction, Incarceration, and Hope
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
"This lyrical testament to life as "a blind date with mercy" will challenge and inspire."--Publishers Weekly [Starred Review]
In 1991, when he was 13 years old, Lenny Duncan stepped out of his house in West Philadelphia, walked to the Greyhound station, and bought a ticket--the start of his great American adventure.
Today Duncan, who inspired and challenged audiences with his breakout first book, Dear Church, brings us a deeply personal story about growing up Black and queer in the U.S. In his characteristically powerful voice he recounts hitchhiking across the country, spending time in solitary confinement, battling for sobriety, and discovering a deep faith, examining pressing issues like poverty, mass incarceration, white supremacy, and LGBTQ inclusion through an intimate portrayal of his life's struggles and joys. United States of Grace is a love story about America, revealing the joy and resilience of those places in this country many call "the margins" but that Lenny Duncan has called home. This book makes the bold claim that God is present with us in the most difficult of circumstances, bringing life out of death.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this passionate memoir, Lutheran pastor and social justice advocate Duncan (Dear Church) shares his unconventional life journey in order to illustrate the beauty and horror of life in the United States and the possibilities of God's grace. Duncan, a Black man, begins with his harrowing childhood, during which he coped with the manifold traumas of racism, poverty, abuse, and family addictions. In his teenage years, he lived as a homeless "queer Black teen on the streets of America," and as a young adult struggled with addiction and served time for a low-level drug offense. Duncan's narrative dwells not on the salacious details of what he terms "poverty porn," but instead on what his experiences say about the country that created his circumstances. He is fierce in both his criticism of America's institutions and his love for its people. He also traces his interactions with God, who he encountered as a young person in the kindness of strangers and now finds in the fight against America's evils: "There seems to be some force in the universe—I call it Grace or God, but whatever it is for you is cool with me—that is highly interested in... saving our collective asses." This lyrical testament to life as "a blind date with mercy" will challenge and inspire.
