Top ten books about losing faith

Matt Rowland Hill was born in 1984 in Pontypridd, South Wales, and grew up in Wales and England. His writing has appeared in the Guardian, the Independent, New Statesman, the Telegraph and other outlets. He now lives in London.

His memoir, Original Sins, is his first book.

At the Guardian Hill tagged ten books that

tell stories of individuals wrestling not only with doubt in God but in families, institutions, political systems and the meaning of life itself. And, taken together, they seem to suggest – to me, at least – that ultimately our best hope of salvation lies in the miracle of art.

One title on the list:

All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews

Toews grew up in a strict Mennonite community in her native Canada before drifting away from the sect. In several books she has chronicled the pain and exhilaration of abandoning an old way of living and seeking out a new one. In All My Puny Sorrows, sisters Elf and Yoli are living in the wreckage of their former faith. Yoli watches helplessly as her beloved sibling loses faith in life itself and is repeatedly tempted to take her own life. Although it tells a tale of unspeakable loss, this beautiful novel contains as much joy and humour as it does grief.

Read about another entry on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue