Today my guest post comes from Rachel Held Evans, author of Evolving in Monkey Town, and my first official cyberfriend. Being the crazy stalker I am, I emailed Rachel about six months ago after falling in love with her blog. We’ve kept encouraging one another, and then we had a chance to meet in-person this March at the Festival of Faith and Writing.

Of course, I was nervous, that she’d either be really dorky or really much cooler than me, but I think we both landed squarely in the nerdy but fun girl category and hit it off immediately. I’ve started (and almost finished) Rachel’s memoir and I HIGHLY recommend it to all my peeps who are looking for a great read on faith and doubt. You’ll find Rachel to be a warm and compassionate writer–as if you two were sitting down to a great conversation together. Today Rachel joins us on the blog to answer 12 Questions about herself.

1. How did “evolving in monkey town” come about? How did you choose a memoir?

I’ve known since childhood that I wanted to be a writer, so the idea of authoring a book has always been in the back of my mind. I decided to write “Evolving in Monkey Town” when I discovered that my struggle with doubt is not unique my experience, that there are a lot of young
Christians asking tough questions about their faith right now. I figured I was safe in writing a memoir if I had either a bizarre story or a relatable story. Since mine seemed relatable, I decided to share it with readers searching for companionship in the journey.

2. What was the most challenging part of the book process?

There’s a lot of waiting involved in the publishing process—waiting for acceptance, waiting for a contract, waiting for edits, waiting for publication—so I’ve had to work at being patient when I’m in between writing deadlines. The writing itself comes pretty naturally, thought I don’t know a writer on earth who doesn’t stare at that first blank page with a bit of trepidation!

2. What is the first thing you do in the morning? last thing at night?

Morning: Drink a cup of coffee. (I’m sure I do other things before that, but I don’t remember any of them.)
Night: Worry about the next day. (Yeah, I know Jesus said not to do that; but it’s hard not to run through my to-do list before falling asleep.)

3. What else would you like to write?

I’m currently pitching book #2 to publishers. It tackles the whole issue of women’s roles in the church/ home/society in a really fun, creative, (you might even say crazy) way. Someday I would love to tackle poetry, but I’m not sure I’m any good at it.

4. What is one object you couldn’t live without?

Right now, my laptop.

5. If you had won a superlative in high school, what would it be? (or what was it?)

I was not cool enough in high school to win a superlative…but if they’d had one for “most likely to turn an everyday conversation into a witnessing opportunity,” I probably would have won. I was a bit of a Bible-thumper in my teenage years!

7. Three people you’d like to meet before you die.

Barack Obama, Anne Lamott, Oprah.

8. What was your favorite chapter to write in the book, and why?

I really enjoyed writing the last chapter because it is the most hopeful of the book. There’s a sense of relief and resolve that comes with pulling all your ideas together in one conclusion.

9. Describe for us the state of your closet and your car.

Love this question! My closet looks like a shoe hurricane recently struck it. My car has enough junk in the backseat to lead a person to believe someone’s living back there.

10. When did you start blogging? Why did you start?

I started blogging in 2008 to try and build a platform for selling the book. But over the years it has turned into such a great little community I can’t imagine ever abandoning it! I’ve learned so much from my readers—about politics, about theology, about life, about music, about science, about writing, about relationships, about pop culture, about Jesus. You name it; we’ve probably talked about it. And I love that.

11. Name one thing you’d like to do, one thing you’d like to be, and one thing you’d like to try.

Have kids. Be more generous. Try a marathon.

12. Complete this sentence: You should read my book if….

…you’ve ever wrestled with tough questions about your faith and are less interested in finding pat answers than a friend who understands.

Join the conversation at Rachel ‘s blog. And most definitely buy her book (or two or three)!