Story Behind The Book
The publication if i gave you God’s phone number….Searching for Spirituality in America, by Mare Cromwell, is a spiritual memoir, framed by twenty one interviews with people from all walks of life. The book combines the oral tradition of Studs Terkel with the soulful searchings of Neale Donald Welsh. Cromwell’s book was published in early Fall of 2002 and recognized in two national book competitions: ForeWord Magazine's Book of the Year Awards - 2003 and DIY National Book Competition - 2003. If i gave you God’s phone number…. offers the reader what only the best books offer—windows into the most authentic reaches of the soul. Cromwell’s conscientious selection of interview subjects, and her deft questioning, which presses them to go deeper and deeper, is what lends the book its striking range. This diorama of spiritual postures—some passionate, some highly intellectualized—is impossible to look away from, infects the reader with a fever of curiosity about the human condition, and then proceeds to administer the careful cure: vivid, compelling testimony. Not only do her many subjects nourish the reader by their telling, but Cromwell too provides ongoing doses of self-revelation, a gesture of honesty that unifies and strengthens the whole picture. Reading if i gave you God’s phone number…. will enrich your view of spiritual life—in all its radiant variety—forever. Cromwell, who toured nationwide to promote if i gave you God’s phone number…., "I did one more interview after 9-11 that was prompted by the events on that tragic day. I thought I was done with interviewing for this book but after 9-11, I realized that I had no Islamic people in it. I knew that I needed to find an Islamic person from the Middle East who might shed some light on the cultural beliefs that led to 9-11, in addition to sharing some information about the Islamic faith…A friend connected me with an Afghani man in Philadelphia who is a Sufi mystic…who touched me very deeply in his interview. It was strangely ironic that the events of 9-11 pushed me to seek out one of the most powerful interviews I did over the past seven years, but it did. From this Sufi man, I learned that some people have God's phone number and use it all the time."
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Reviews
Finalist in ForeWord Magazine's 2003 Book of the Year Awards<br />Honorable Mention in the DIY 2003 Book Festival Awards<br /><br />ForeWord Magazine, November 2002<br />“…The book will appeal to those who are asking their own questions and are curious about the questions of others like themselves. It provokes a desire in the reader to want to add his or her answers!” by Linda L. Wilson<br /><br />BookReview.com, March 2003 review<br />“This book provides a glimpse into the diversity of the human interpretation of God… If you like to delve into the depths of the minds of many, you will enjoy reading this book.” By Laura Zirngible <br /><br />Bestreviews.com, April 2003<br />“Mare Cromwell has compiled a collection of narrative conversations that will touch every reader who has ever believed, doubted, questioned, rejected, revered, wondered about, or worshipped a higher power.” by Viviane Crystal<br /><br />The Baltimore Sun, June 3, 2003<br />“...Cromwell's book, If I Gave You God's Phone Number, is such a delight.” By Michael Olesker<br /><br /><br /><br />Advance Praise for the Book<br /><br />“I strongly recommend this engaging, thought-provoking book. It is distinguished by Ms. Cromwell’s empathy for the interesting and diverse people she searched out to interview about their communication with God. Readers will be stimulated to reflect on their own spiritual journey as well as the author’s own experiences and those of the people she has interviewed. Because of Ms. Cromwell’s personal candor and insights, I continue to ponder the central question she asked her interviewees in this important and unusual book.”<br />—James Crowfoot, Ph.D., Professor and Dean Emeritus, University of Michigan and former President of Antioch College<br /><br />“Imagine having toll-free access to God with no busy signals, no voice mail, and the Boss was always in. What would you want to know? The provocative question will resonate and your answer will continue to evolve long after you’ve turned the last page in Mare Cromwell’s intriguing and enlightening if i gave you God’s phone number….”<br />—Allegra Bennett, author of Renovating Woman and When a Woman Takes an Ax to a Wall<br /><br />“Mare Cromwell has done a wonderful job of bringing people’s personal views on God and spirituality to the public in this book. These stories will deepen our understanding of the diversity of spirituality in the human experience.”<br />—Garrett Sarley, President of the Omega Institute, author of The Essentials of Yoga and Walking Yoga<br /><br />“Mare Cromwell has put together a fascinating tableau of what it means to have access to God’s telephone number. A very enlightening and entertaining read!”<br />—Franklyn L. Rodgers, Publishing Consultant to the magazine and book industry.<br /><br />“Mare Cromwell’s book offers the reader what only the best books offer—windows into the most authentic reaches of the soul. Her conscientious selection of interview subjects, and her deft questioning, which presses them to go deeper and deeper, is what lends the book its striking range. This diorama of spiritual postures—some passionate, some highly intellectualized—is impossible to look away from, infects the reader with a fever of curiosity about the human condition, and then proceeds to administer the careful cure: vivid, compelling testimony. Not only do her many subjects nourish the reader by their telling, but Cromwell too provides ongoing doses of self-revelation, a gesture of honesty that unifies and strengthens the whole picture. I can guarantee that reading if i gave you God’s phone number will enrich your view of spiritual life—in all its radiant variety—forever.”<br />—Christopher Nöel, author of In The Unlikely Event of a Water Landing: A Geography of Grief<br /><br /><br />