“A writer only begins a book. A reader finishes it.” Samuel Johnson, from Works of Samuel Johnson

Mother’s Day approaches and it has occurred to me that in much the same way that children learn about life and beauty from their mothers, we readers are inspired and taught by writers.

My sense of observing and processing the world around me has evolved over time. As a younger person, I was enthralled with gifted speakers of the 1960’s: John Kennedy and his brother Robert, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X. Even my parish priest in New York captured my attention with his message, delivery, and presence. I cannot discern even now whether this attraction was personality driven or simply how I related to the world around me. Nonetheless, the spoken word captivated me during those early years.

I recently had a conversation with someone who was interested in writing Orthodox children’s books; however, she was primarily interested in writing fantasy. We talked for a few minutes, and it got me to thinking about this. We pray to the Theotokos to help us with “wicked memories and fantasies.” So it seems appropriate to me to ask the question: Is it Orthodox to read and write allegory/fantasy?

This month in Behind the Book, we interview iconographer Aidan Hart, author of Techniques of Icon and Wall Painting. With hopes of raising the current standards of iconography in the West, Mr. Hart has written a 460-page icon painting manual published in 2011 by Gracewing Publishers. In his thirty years of experience, Mr. Hart has seen a welcome rise of interest in iconography, but, in his opinion, much of this interest has resulted in poorly crafted work. His book is designed to show that iconography is a serious and demanding sacred art, requiring hard work, a strong spiritual life, and good intentions. Through his experience, he has seen that there is a need for a detailed reference book that could be used as a sort of textbook for teachers and students alike.

Some Christians get put through a ringer before they celebrate Easter.

In the United States of America, we celebrate all the different cultures that exist. Then we change them into something anachronistic. For instance, when I went to Venice, I discovered that it in fact did not look like a Disney resort or the “tunnel of love” ride depicted in so many cartoons. It was in fact so much more and authentic. Nothing can replace authenticity.

When I first saw Jefferson Bethke's “Why I Hate Religion but love Jesus” video, I loved it. I loved that it had 20 million viewers and I loved that it proved something I’d been trying to find a way to say for a long time as a convert to Orthodoxy. This generation is primed and waiting to become Orthodox. The Response to Jefferson Bethke is so profound because he either resonates with you or completely offends you. Either way, if you watched his video, you counted as one of those 20 million viewers. So first, we shouldn’t assume that all 20 million would give this video a “thumbs up.” One question needs to be asked though. Is his message lost in translation? Might we agree with him if we actually meant the same things by the common words we use?

When I trained as a Clinical Psychologist in Britain’s National Health Service, I knew that I wanted to work exclusively with children. I had the ideal job, working at the oldest children’s hospital in Europe. Several years later I moved to Cambridge and never wanted to leave there. Those were the best years of my career as a child psychologist. My work had been richly varied and I always loved working with children in pediatric settings. I researched and published on the assessment and hypnotic treatment of children in pain, which remains an interest of mine.

This month in Behind the Book we interview Annalisa Boyd, author of Hear Me: A Prayer Book for Orthodox Teens. Hear Me was published in 2007 and has been a very popular prayer book, selling thousands of copies since its first printing. Here, we speak with Annalisa about how the book came about, and how her own prayer life, and that of her family, has been affected by working on this beautiful, yet challenging project.

The Summary: Hear Me is a prayer book seeking to challenge Orthodox teens to stand up and make the Orthodox faith their own. It is split into several sections: daily prayers; prayers for any time; prayers for relationships; prayers for circumstances; the sacrament of confession; prayers with the Bible and the saints; some saints who pray for you; and the Christian walk.

Theology is a beautiful and wonderful thing. I love reading it; however, one does have to admit that it takes a certain level of education and understanding to really appreciate some of the more complicated theological ideas. However, if you are Orthodox, it’s the theology of the simple that strikes me most.