An enduring classic from award-winning writer Barbara Brown Taylor, and a timeless meditation for all who thirst for a God who often seems to be silent. It considers the limitations of the language we have at our disposal to speak about God; the stupendous responsibility upon anyone who attempts to speak for God, in preaching or pastoral encounter; and the torrents of words coming at us from all directions in contemporary culture that can drown out the messages we really need to hear. In this land of linguistic superabundance, Barbara Brown Taylor argues persuasively for simplicity and economy when speaking of God. She reflects on the eloquence of Jesus’ silences and how we can find ways of bringing tired, old language about God back to vivid, powerful life.

'Her concise, pithy and challenging prose is evidence that she is practicing what she preaches: that Christian pastors take more care with the words they use.' -- Kathleen Norris
'If there is one book I would want every person of faith aware of the fragile contours of language to read, this is it. Never surrendering a good question for a mere answer, it reverences both the disclosures of silence and the potential of words to form, more than inform, the human soul. Of all Barbara Brown Taylor's wonderful books, this is the one for my desert island.' -- Mark Oakley
'This book would...make an ideal basis for personal reflection during Advent or Lent' -- Revd Mark Brosnan * Magnet *

Barbara Brown Taylor is a priest in the Episcopal church and the author of numerous books which have been showered with awards, including the bestselling An Altar in the World and Leaving Church. She currently teaches Religion at Piedmont College, Georgia and is on the Board of Advisors of Yale Divinity School.