The Wondering Years

Every so often, a book comes along that, when you finish the last page, you look back and realize, “I needed this book in my life at this moment.” For me, The Wondering Years was one of those books.
The Wondering Years is a heart-felt account of the author’s faith journey and love of pop-culture. Knox McCoy does a fantastic job of being vulnerable with questions of faith he has been, and continues to be, wrestling with. At the same time, he folds in hilarious anecdotes and illustrations of how pop-culture has helped him put words to or illustrate these wrestlings.
At the beginning of some chapters, I seriously questioned how he was going to tie in a pop-culture reference to his Christian faith, but every time (and I am serious here, EVERY. TIME.) I ended the chapter nodding, saying “Ooooohhhhh...that makes sense,” under my breath, or with tears in my eyes.
There are 3 reasons this book resonated with me:
1. The subject of “faith crisis” has come up in multiple conversations over the time of reading this book, and many of the chapters were a punch to the gut (in a good way).
2. Over the course of reading this book, sermons and other books I have been reading ended up reminding me of sections of Knox’s book (specifically Ch. 12 Knox McCoy, Evangelist to That Kid I Met on a Mission Trip) and great discussions ensued.
3. I grew up in the same decades as Knox, and often found myself delighting in the pop-culture references (except for Ch. 4 Knox McCoy, Canine Evangelist, because no one needs to be reminded about All Dogs Go to Heaven and how soul-crushing that movie was for my 9 year old self).
In regards to number 3, I am going to be honest: if you have little to no knowledge of pop-culture, this book may not be for you, as the references will probably not make any sense at all.
However, if you have somewhat of a handle on pop-culture, have questions about God and Christianity, love Jesus but have questions, and/or like really, really good writing, I cannot recommend this book enough.

In an effort to explain to my inquisitive four-year-old why saying "God is light" doesn't mean God is, in fact, the moon, I put my English degree to good use describing how metaphors use ideas we already understand to illuminate more complicated concepts.

That's exactly what Knox McCoy does in The Wondering Years. In a voice that is both humorous, heartwarming, and perceptive, Knox shares pop culture anecdotes and analogies that have helped him (and now us) make sense of life and faith. Though I've never been punched in the face (you'll understand after the first chapter) and don't consider myself any sort of pop culture maven*, Knox's stories and insights were infinitely relatable. His ability to transition from funny story to personal reflection is seamless.

Also, his footnotes are perfection.

If you you're a Popcast fan, you will love this book.
If you love Jesus and Netflix, you will love this book.
If you are a bit dubious about Christianity or have lots of questions, you will love this book.
If you've ever wondered who the seven suspected antichrists are, you will love this book.

"There's a cheesy cliche you've probably heard of: 'Not all who wander are lost.' But the truth is, not all who wonder are lost either." - Knox

Can't wait to get my physical copy!

*The Popcast with Knox and Jamie is the only reason I ever kind of know what I'm talking about in regards to pop culture. And a lot of times, I don't always know what they're talking about. But I still tune in every Wednesday - it's that good. Same goes with this book. I didn't always catch the references, but it didn't diminish my enjoyment one bit.