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This book came to my attention because of Bishop Budde’s sermon at the prayer service in Washington’s National Cathedral on January 22, 2025. I am one of the many who appreciated her speaking calmly but directly to the new president, asking him to have mercy on the many vulnerable people who were (and are) terrified by the threats he had made and actions he had already taken. As soon as I learned that she had written a book on courage, I knew I wanted to read it.

This is the audiobook version, and it is read by Bishop Budde. It’s definitely worth listening to. Many of the things she has to say are worth dwelling on, so I would like to read the print version—which is on order at my library, but not yet available there.

The book is written from the standpoint of Christian faith. Budde has many things to say that I think would resonate with a person of another faith (or of no faith). Such a person might prefer to read a different book on the subject, and that’s fair, but I do think there are things here that would reward any reader who didn’t mind the faith framing. The book is also interesting because Budde illustrates her points with many examples from her own life and ministry, so anyone who would like to know more about the individual who has spoken up to Donald Trump on two particularly public occasions could do worse than to read this.

Speaking as a person of Christian faith, I very much appreciated both the topics she discusses and the way she frames them. There is a seriousness and depth of spiritual understanding that is lacking in the spiritual material I encounter written from an evangelical point of view, and a solid theological grounding that has been lacking in the material I have encountered (to be fair, mostly spoken, in sermons and days of reflection) within the Episcopal tradition that is Bishop Budde’s spiritual home.