#FridayReads: Darling: A Spiritual Autobiography by Richard Rodriguez

An award–winning writer delivers a major reckoning with religion, place, and sexuality in the aftermath of 9/11


Hailed in The Washington Post as “one of the most eloquent and probing public intellectuals in America,” Richard Rodriguez now considers religious violence worldwide, growing public atheism in the West, and his own mortality.


Rodriguez’s stylish new memoir—the first book in a decade from the Pulitzer Prize finalist—Darling, moves from Jerusalem to Silicon Valley, from Moses to Liberace, from Lance Armstrong to Mother Teresa. Rodriguez is a homosexual who writes with love of the religions of the desert that exclude him. 


He is a passionate, unorthodox Christian who is always mindful of his relationship to Judaism and Islam because of a shared belief in the God who revealed himself within an ecology of emptiness. And at the center of this book is a consideration of women—their importance to Rodriguez’s spiritual formation and their centrality to the future of the desert religions.


Only a mind as elastic and refined as Rodriguez’s could bind these threads together into this wonderfully complex tapestry. Richard Rodriguez is a journalist, essayist, and author whose books include Days of Obligation, Brown, and Hunger of Memory. He is a contributor to Harper’s Magazine, Mother Jones, the Los Angeles Times, and Time. He lives in San Francisco.

Spread the love

More Articles for You

16 Essential Books on Witches, Witchcraft, Feminist History

These curated books trace the witch from early-modern trials and accusations to feminist history, reproductive politics, aging, sexuality, power, and Gothic fiction.

Spread the love

Raising Boys Today: 18 Books Every Mother of Sons Should Read

Explore the inner lives of boys through psychology, reporting, memoir, cultural criticism, and fiction, from friendship and masculinity to pornography, consent, trauma, race, social media, feminism, and the complicated work of loving sons without possessing them.

Spread the love

10 Essential Books About Taíno History Before 1492: An Indigenous Peoples’ Day Reading List

Explore 10 essential books about Taíno history, archaeology, culture and Indigenous Caribbean life before 1492, curated for Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

Spread the love

Puerto Rican Porridges: Maizena, Harina de Maíz, and the Comfort of the Boricua Breakfast

A personal and cultural essay on Puerto Rican porridges, including silky maizena, avena and harina de maíz recipes with cinnamon, fresh ginger, and dried orange rind, plus lactose-free options.

Spread the love

Yesteryear and the Problem of “This Moment” Fiction

Disclosure: I received a complimentary advance review copy of Yesteryear. As always, receiving a galley does not influence my opinions. …

Spread the love

42 of the Best Feminist Rage Books and Feminist Theory Books to Read Right Now

I have been seeing a lot of requests for feminist rage books lately, and I understand why. We are living …

Spread the love