All Is Grace (book)

All Is Grace: A Ragamuffin Memoir by Brennan Manning
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Book description: Brennan Manning has spent the past forty years helping others experience the reality of God’s love and grace. It’s at the heart of everything he’s written and done. A recovering alcoholic and former Franciscan priest, his spiritual journey has taken him down a variety of paths. He has taught seminarians, spoken to packed arenas, lived in a cave and labored with the poor in Spain, and ministered to shrimpers in Alabama. Brennan is best known as the author of the contemporary classics, The Ragamuffin Gospel, Abba’s Child, Ruthless Trust, The Importance of Being Foolish, Patched Together, and The Furious Longing of God.

My review: I read Brennan Manning's The Ragamuffin Gospel some years ago and really appreciated it. I didn't know much about his life other than the hints he revealed in that book. After reading this memoir, it is easy to see why grace is so important to Manning - and why every human is a ragamuffin in need of grace. So I appreciated Manning's honesty and the confessional tone of the book. But, for me, there was something missing - there didn't seem to be the depth that I'd expect from someone reflecting on such an incredible life of grace. Maybe I was expecting too much. Manning is now obviously very dependent on assistance from a carer and I was saddened to hear of his Wernickes disease as a result of his alcoholism. Whatever the deficiencies, this is a moving book from a man who truly lived and breathed grace.

View all my reviews