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Blue Like Jazz
Non-Religious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality
A late-night, coffee-fueled conversation about the messy, beautiful reality of faith outside the church walls.
What it feels like
Reading this feels like sitting in a dimly lit Portland coffee shop on a rainy afternoon, nursing a mug of something warm while a friend pours out their messy, unfiltered thoughts on God. The pace is decidedly meandering, drifting through personal anecdotes, campus protests, and quiet epiphanies with a wry, self-deprecating charm. It strips away the polished veneer of institutional religion, replacing it with an atmosphere of vulnerable, seeking authenticity. The prose is conversational and deeply accessible, inviting you to lower your defenses. It is a perfect fit for spiritual wanderers, recovering evangelicals, and anyone who feels alienated by dogma but still finds themselves inexplicably drawn to the mystery of grace.
- Mood
- introspective
- coffee-shop cozy
- rainy-day
- seeking
- Tone
- conversational
- self-deprecating
- earnest
- wry
- vulnerable
- Pace
- meandering
- Themes
- spiritual wandering · authentic community · sacred in the secular · grace over dogma · faith deconstruction
- The writing
- Casual, conversational, and deeply personal, reading more like a late-night chat with a friend than a theological treatise.
- The arc
- Moves from cynical disillusionment with institutional religion to a quiet, authentic rediscovery of personal faith and grace.
- Who it's for
- Spiritual seekers and recovering evangelicals tired of performative religion who crave honest, messy faith.
Content notes
- religious disillusionment
- mild substance use
About the book
A collection of essays and personal reflections chronicling the author's growing understanding of the nature of God and Jesus, and the need and responsibility for an authentic personal response to that understanding. Much of the work centers on Miller's experiences with friends and fellow students while auditing courses at Reed College, a liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon.
Description from Open Library.
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