I recently finished reading the memoir Surprised by Oxford by Carolyn Weber and it has become one of my favorite books. Carolyn's story is one of faith, love, and there is no shortage of books. She travels to Oxford to get her Graduate degree in Romantic Literature, my absolute dream, and ends up finding God in the process. Set in one of the most beautiful academic environments in the world, this memoir shows how intellect can only come so far before you recognize your need for more.
I love this book not only for its true story, and the kindred spirit I have in the author, but also in the way I found it. One of my favorite things to do when I'm happy or unhappy is to go to a bookstore. It's a remedy when I'm lonely, celebration when I'm feeling good, and perfect companion even when I want to be alone. I'll wander through the shelves, occasionally plucking one from its home to flip through its pages. When I bought this book this summer, it was in this exact format. I was needing some alone time, not looking for anything in particular, when I happened upon it. At that time I was disappointed at deciding not to study abroad at Oxford in the fall like I had always dreamed, so when I saw this book's title and read the back, I knew it was buy-worthy.
I hope to one day have a graduate degree in Romantic Literature, and my favorite poet is John Donne, so when I opened this book to its first page and found an introductory quote from Donne, I nearly fainted. I hadn't even read one line from the author and thought, "I have to meet this woman!"
In the book she talks about her journey from being an agnostic, to falling completely head-over-heels in love with Jesus Christ. It did not happen quickly, and her own romantic love story is interwoven in the book, not being revealed until the end. She keeps it underwraps because the focus of the book is her faith journey, within the old, scholarly world of Oxford. I could totally relate to the author's description of herself: "Totally idealistic, I was the quintessential student...With college, my life opened up more than I could have ever imagined: into art, and history, and philosophy, and argumentation, and statistics, and post-colonial theory. I began to understand my own spot of existence in relation to the history of ideas. I began to see, both scarily and comfortingly, that all I thought had been thought before. I began to see how studying the humanities illuminates humanitas or "what it means to be human." What it means to become human. The decisions and the responsibilities of becoming truly humane."
Carolyn Weber is a brilliant writer, not only because of her vast knowledge, but for her honesty, insight, and humor. I felt so inspired after reading it, and it made me think of my own faith journey and all the doubts and assurances I have had over the years. Weber nearly knocked me off my feet with this simple observation: " I now understand why the words conversation and conversion are evocative of each other, turning toward each other, yet separated merely by where you are "at." There have been many times that I have had deeply spiritual conversations with friends who don't believe in God or Jesus, and they will be resolute in their opposition, completely unwilling to accept certain answers for their questions of Why does God allow pain and suffering? Why do children die? If He's real, why doesn't He show up? How can I be a sinner when I haven't done anything that bad? How can I be expected to believe everything in the Bible? and the list goes on and on... Carolyn Weber was once on the other end, and she tells of how she slung these questions like arrows at the man who became her husband, and even though his answers never changed, her heart did overtime.
She learned that faith is not the opposite of reason, accepting Christ's gift of salvation isn't weakness, and that God is truly a loving, faithful father, unlike that one she grew up with. What amazing truth!
She never writes with an air of haughtiness or pride, but with pure confidence in the Gospel she now believes. Her story is honest, confessing all her previous mistakes and struggles, as well as all she faced while at Oxford. Even though it is set in such a idyllic place, her story is down-to-earth, easy to relate to, and captivating.
I can't say enough about it. Go read it!
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