A thing will often lose its value if it is detached. Airline tickets expressly state that if the coupon is detached from the whole by an unauthorized person, this will result in cancellation. A lamp is worthless when detached from the wall outlet that provides it with electrical current. And what about those pesky mattress tags?
This is the story of a religion-phobic Gen Xer who felt a void because she had become detached from her faith. In fact, she wasn't sure what her faith was or if she actually had any faith at all. Raised as a preacher's kid, she had an astonishingly long list of why religion didn't work for her—until five years after her father's death, she began reading his sermons. Follow her journey through history and theology as she sometimes seriously—and often irreverently—learns to fill the void with something greater than herself. |
Praise for void if detached
IR Verdict: 4.5 stars
"VOID IF DETACHED is a thoughtful and intelligent guide to Christian (and other) religious ideas through the eyes of an educated, kindly minister and his loving, but questioning, daughter."
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"VOID IF DETACHED is a thoughtful and intelligent guide to Christian (and other) religious ideas through the eyes of an educated, kindly minister and his loving, but questioning, daughter."
> Read interview
A Rabbi and a Preacher: Two Unlikely (or Not so Unlikely) Tallit-Bag Fellows
In this article, Rabbi Dr. Haviva Ner-David reviews Void if Detached as "an illuminating experience... Murdoch does not preach 'Christianity' from these texts any more than he preaches 'Judaism' from the Old Testament readings. He preaches humanity."
> Read the full article
In this article, Rabbi Dr. Haviva Ner-David reviews Void if Detached as "an illuminating experience... Murdoch does not preach 'Christianity' from these texts any more than he preaches 'Judaism' from the Old Testament readings. He preaches humanity."
> Read the full article
WINNER: 2018 International Book Award, Religion: General
The International Book Awards honors excellence in independent and mainstream publishing. See a full list of winners at internationalbookawards.com
The International Book Awards honors excellence in independent and mainstream publishing. See a full list of winners at internationalbookawards.com
WINNER: 2017 Nautilus Book Award, Silver, Religion/Spirituality of Western Thought
The Nautilus Book Award celebrates and honors books that support conscious living & green values, high-level wellness, positive social change, and spiritual growth.
Fellow 2017 winners include Thich Nhat Hanh, Brene Brown, Byron Katie, and Rob Bell. See a full list of this year's award winners at nautilusbookawards.com.
Prior winners of this award include Deepak Chopra, Thich Nhat Hanh, and Marianne Williamson. See full list of notable receipients,
The Nautilus Book Award celebrates and honors books that support conscious living & green values, high-level wellness, positive social change, and spiritual growth.
Fellow 2017 winners include Thich Nhat Hanh, Brene Brown, Byron Katie, and Rob Bell. See a full list of this year's award winners at nautilusbookawards.com.
Prior winners of this award include Deepak Chopra, Thich Nhat Hanh, and Marianne Williamson. See full list of notable receipients,
FINALIST: 2018 Body Mind Spirit Book Award
“Shining a light on books that enrich the human experience"
> View winners
“Shining a light on books that enrich the human experience"
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WINNER: 2018 Gold Illumination Book Award
“Richard Murdoch’s reflections shared in the book are inspiring, thoughtful, and just as relatable today as they were when he originally delivered them."
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> Read press release
“Richard Murdoch’s reflections shared in the book are inspiring, thoughtful, and just as relatable today as they were when he originally delivered them."
> View all winners
> Read press release
WINNER: 2017 Gold IPPY Award, Religion category
"One word to describe this year’s IPPY medal-winning books is vivid...” says Jim Barnes, director of the Awards. “Independent publishing is all about passion, for the topics, the causes, and for sharing great writing and publishing with a world of readers.”
> Read press release
"One word to describe this year’s IPPY medal-winning books is vivid...” says Jim Barnes, director of the Awards. “Independent publishing is all about passion, for the topics, the causes, and for sharing great writing and publishing with a world of readers.”
> Read press release
WINNER: 2017 Indie Reader Discovery Award
"[This] title was judged by top industry professionals—not as merely a great indie book—but as great book, period”
> Read more in Huffington Post article
"[This] title was judged by top industry professionals—not as merely a great indie book—but as great book, period”
> Read more in Huffington Post article
FINALIST: 2017 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, Spirituality category
FINALIST: 2017 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, Memoir category
FINALIST: 2017 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, Christian Non-Fiction category
"The Sundance of the book publishing world.”
> Read press release
FINALIST: 2017 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, Memoir category
FINALIST: 2017 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, Christian Non-Fiction category
"The Sundance of the book publishing world.”
> Read press release
A fresh approach to spiritual questioning
"An excellent book for skeptics who want to understand the jewels of the Hebrew and Christian bible stories. This creative book avoids dogma and preachiness, favoring instead the questions many of us ask during our spiritual journeys. The author even states "you do not need to be religious or even believe in God to read this book." Truly a fresh approach to this type of content. I learned an amazing amount of information that I can apply to my own questions about spirituality and how it fits in my life."
-Anne Mikal, Amazon reader
Reverend Murdoch makes the distinction between excellence and perfect...
"In one of the sermons of Ms. Bowen's father, Reverend Murdock makes the distinction between excellence and perfect and he says 'perfection is mechanical; excellence is dynamic. It is that spark--that little extra part that will cover for and excuse what is not perfect.' (Bowen, 2016, p. 260). Ms. Bowen achieves real excellence in her masterpiece. And it is 'dynamic.' It is the love Ms. Bowen put into her work that gives it that spark where it achieves its excellence. And the grammar and writing also perfect by the way, but far from mechanical. The way she combines scriptures with her dad's sermons and biblical history gave spirituality and religion a different spin for me. In my own upbringing as a minister's daughter I had a lot of blind spots--I knew scripture but not as much history. Ms Bowen's work made a lot of sense to me and I can appreciate the wisdom and skill that went into the way she creatively put all this together into a meaningful representation of her father's legacy. It also gives the reader some real nuggets of things to think about in their own spiritual paths. Highly recommended."
- Author, Jean Marie Manthei, MA, LPC, CACIII
Inspiring...
"This woman is the daughter of a wonderful pastor who passed away way too early in life. Her book is inspiring as were his sermons."
- Pete M., Amazon reader
"An excellent book for skeptics who want to understand the jewels of the Hebrew and Christian bible stories. This creative book avoids dogma and preachiness, favoring instead the questions many of us ask during our spiritual journeys. The author even states "you do not need to be religious or even believe in God to read this book." Truly a fresh approach to this type of content. I learned an amazing amount of information that I can apply to my own questions about spirituality and how it fits in my life."
-Anne Mikal, Amazon reader
Reverend Murdoch makes the distinction between excellence and perfect...
"In one of the sermons of Ms. Bowen's father, Reverend Murdock makes the distinction between excellence and perfect and he says 'perfection is mechanical; excellence is dynamic. It is that spark--that little extra part that will cover for and excuse what is not perfect.' (Bowen, 2016, p. 260). Ms. Bowen achieves real excellence in her masterpiece. And it is 'dynamic.' It is the love Ms. Bowen put into her work that gives it that spark where it achieves its excellence. And the grammar and writing also perfect by the way, but far from mechanical. The way she combines scriptures with her dad's sermons and biblical history gave spirituality and religion a different spin for me. In my own upbringing as a minister's daughter I had a lot of blind spots--I knew scripture but not as much history. Ms Bowen's work made a lot of sense to me and I can appreciate the wisdom and skill that went into the way she creatively put all this together into a meaningful representation of her father's legacy. It also gives the reader some real nuggets of things to think about in their own spiritual paths. Highly recommended."
- Author, Jean Marie Manthei, MA, LPC, CACIII
Inspiring...
"This woman is the daughter of a wonderful pastor who passed away way too early in life. Her book is inspiring as were his sermons."
- Pete M., Amazon reader
Thoroughly enthralled...
"Thoroughly enthralled so far. It is not a normal page turner. It's not a novel. To me, it is a tool for introspection. Pastor Murdoch married my wife and I on the campus of Michigan State University in 1991. So, I as I read, I hear it in his voice. As I read each sermon, I have to let it sink in. Sometimes I read a couple each day, and at other times I have to let it settle for awhile. I also knew Sarah in college. It was a great, but brief, time. She is my brother (Thanks, APO!) and I hold her in high regard. Thanks for writing the book, Sarah!"
- Chris C.
"Thoroughly enthralled so far. It is not a normal page turner. It's not a novel. To me, it is a tool for introspection. Pastor Murdoch married my wife and I on the campus of Michigan State University in 1991. So, I as I read, I hear it in his voice. As I read each sermon, I have to let it sink in. Sometimes I read a couple each day, and at other times I have to let it settle for awhile. I also knew Sarah in college. It was a great, but brief, time. She is my brother (Thanks, APO!) and I hold her in high regard. Thanks for writing the book, Sarah!"
- Chris C.