Amanda Held Opelt
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August 2021
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Wholehearted Faith
by
11 editions
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published
2021
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A Hole in the World: Finding Hope in Rituals of Grief and Healing
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Holy Unhappiness: God, Goodness, and the Myth of the Blessed Life
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* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.
Amanda’s Recent Updates
Amanda Opelt
rated a book it was amazing
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This has been one of my favorite books of the year. The topic is niche and the writing a bit academic, but it is engaging and flows well. Highly recommend. | |
Amanda Opelt
rated a book really liked it
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This book was comprehensive and absorbable. Not quite the detail I was looking for regarding some key texts and the philosophical underpinnings of our Western misconceptions about the body, but overall a good introduction to the topic. | |
Amanda Opelt
rated a book it was amazing
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A brilliant response to Vance's Hillbilly Elegy. I loved the mix of essay, poetry, and photography. ...more | |
Amanda Opelt
rated a book it was ok
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This was a second read through for me. I wish I could give 4 stars for storytelling ability and one or two stars for overall takeaways. Unfortunately, this book relies on old and inaccurate stereotypes about Appalachian people. The book also seemingl ...more | |
Amanda Opelt
rated a book it was ok
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This was a second read through for me. I wish I could give 4 stars for storytelling ability and one or two stars for overall takeaways. Unfortunately, this book relies on old and inaccurate stereotypes about Appalachian people. The book also seemingl ...more | |
Amanda Opelt
rated a book liked it
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There were a few key takeaways from this book that I really appreciated and have helped me immensely. I also felt that the book was quite practical. The varying formats throughout (sometimes Q&A, some transcripts of lectures, overall took away from t ...more | |
Amanda Opelt
rated a book really liked it
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This book was a real page turner - I just couldn't put it down. I was glad to learn so much of the history of the land struggles between indigenous tribes and settlers and to read a sober/realistic portrayal of Daniel Boone's life. I believe the auth ...more | |
Amanda Opelt
rated a book liked it
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This was a very readable, accessible history of Watauga County, definitely a page turner. As a resident of Watauga County, I felt that some aspects of county life were left out such as more details on the Junaluska community. | |
Amanda Opelt
rated a book really liked it
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Overall, a great read. I found the analysis of the history of the theology of the body to be a bit reductive, but for the most part, I love how she explored the impact of capitalism, consumerism, and religion on our understanding of the body. | |
Amanda Opelt
rated a book really liked it
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Considering this is a topic I'm not particularly interested in, this book kept me engaged in every chapter. A great overview of the history and culture of hunting. ...more | |
“Sometimes we have to allow grief to have its way with us for a while. We need to get lost in the landscape of grief. It is a wild and rugged wilderness terrain to be sure, but it is here that we meet our truest selves. And we are met by God. The wilderness makes no space for pretense or facade. The language of platitudes and trite niceties are of no use to us in the wilderness. In the wilderness, we speak what is primitive and primary. We say what is true. We say what is hard and heartbreaking. We wail.”
― A Hole in the World: Finding Hope in Rituals of Grief and Healing
― A Hole in the World: Finding Hope in Rituals of Grief and Healing
“Our inclination to explain away suffering is an indication of how reticent we are to simply lament as a society, to admit our weakness. When our understandings of cause and effect, control, and reciprocity are all disrupted, it's humbling. Bewilderment is an experience we aren't accustomed to in our culture. But this humiliation and bewilderment are at the heart of the death wail. They are the ingredients of grief. Death is humiliating. It's mortifying. It's incomprehensible. So many of the psalms of lament begin with the question, 'Why?' And there isn't always an answer.”
― A Hole in the World: Finding Hope in Rituals of Grief and Healing
― A Hole in the World: Finding Hope in Rituals of Grief and Healing
“The death wail is unsophisticated. It is not curated. It cares not what others think of it, and it has no desire for an interpreter. It is a language meant not for communication but rather for expelling the darkness. When it breaks free, one loses all sense of propriety and performance. The wailer slips into a world of inconsequence, succumbing to the sorrow and finally expressing with unbridled veracity what is true and real about all that is being experienced: I am destroyed.”
― A Hole in the World: Finding Hope in Rituals of Grief and Healing
― A Hole in the World: Finding Hope in Rituals of Grief and Healing