Hey Me, Hello Me!

Dec 13, 2022

Lake Drive Books Authors in the Media and Recent Blog Post on the Topic of Social Media

Friends,

Here’s just a few updates on some podcast and media activity by our Lake Drive Books authors that you might want to explore. And then see Publisher David Morris’s latest blog post on life on social media.

There’s many good opportunities to learn more about how we heal, grow, and discover in today’s world:

Kate Meyer, author of Faith Doesn’t Erase Grief: Embracing the Experience and Finding Hope, was on the Tendrils of Grief podcast, where she talks about how it’s okay to be angry at God.

Cynthia Vacca Davis, author of Intersexion: A Story of Faith, Identity, and Authenticity got an amazing review and shout out from The Decolonizing Christian Instagram account and also was named to the Top 34 LGBTQ Christian Books 2022 list by Q Spirit.

Julia Rocchi, author of Amen?: Questions for a God I Hope Exists was on the Chasing Goodness podcast with Matt Kendziera, talking about how we ask really hard questions without giving up our faith.

Matt Kendziera, author of Bring It Home: The Adventure of Finding Yourself After Being Lost in Religion was on the ReVcovery podcast talking about finding your way spiritually and professionally by focusing on the gifts and skills you know you have no matter what.

Do you know about the Lake Drive Books YouTube channel? There you’ll find interviews of each of our authors, some audiobook narrator interviews, and even a couple of webinars on publishing. Please subscribe to the channel and “like” anything you enjoy there.

And there’s so much more news to tell you about, like the upcoming releases of Marla Taviano’s jaded and Lemuel Blackett’s Help, I’m Dealing with Trauma. Stay tuned!

Is It Social Media, Or Is It Us?

Being in the world of books, social media can be important, but I often hear how tired and downright repulsed people are by social media, some platforms more than others.

No doubt, it really can be a horrible experience being on social media, and it can go to extremes. There is indeed a lot of cranky, mean-spirited, discouraging, content and misinformation on social media. I won’t even list the possibilities here. Not gonna do it.

But there is also some incredible good that happens pretty much on every platform:

People have become better informed in an era where newspapers and print media have waned dramatically. And the information can be quick, unfiltered by gatekeepers.
Inspiring, encouraging, even entertaining content can brighten your day and refocus your attitude.
People are meeting each other online and then forming real, healthy relationships offline. They’re also keeping up with some of the happenings with family, friends, and colleagues.

Even with all the good that can happen, why is there the bad?

Here’s a question though about all that: Is it the technology, or is it us?

Here’s a theory that might be of interest to you who might be hanging around a website about publishing books in religion and spirituality.

In my work in psychology and religion, one insight comes from applying a developmental approach to religion in the United States. In short, how we grow throughout life happens in stages from birth to old age (it doesn’t end in childhood). In each of those stages, there is a spiritual, ethical, or religious dimension, and this dimension can influence our maturity, and vice versa. Simple enough.

Cutting right to it, there’s one stage in human development where we excel at using more elaborate language to make clear distinctions between right and wrong, this and that. Then we share that language among the individuals around us and form strong if not at times brittle identities and create in groups and out groups.

Hmm… sounds a lot like religion in the United States, right? Now, can you guess what stage of human development is highly concerned with ideology and identity? You guessed it: adolescence.

So in other words, using developmental psychology—granted, in a very simple argument here, we can conclude that an evocative descriptor of a lot of religious people in the United States is that they are—you guessed it again—spiritual adolescents.

Take that one step further and ask, is there a big difference between spiritual and emotional maturity? They indeed are related, as noted above. In other words, if so many of us in the U.S. are spiritual adolescents, then we are also quite likely emotional adolescents.

In answering the question this post asks, we might say that it’s we who are annoying, not the technology itself. In other words, the technology doesn’t just bring out our annoying behavior; instead, perhaps we are actually annoying people. We Americans, so many of us, are truly immature, no matter our chronological age or years reading the Bible. The truth is, we’re annoying!

And there you have it. One simple theory about why social media can be so challenging. Now, I realize that I went fast there, so just take it for what it’s worth.

Regardless, the challenge here remains the same: Can you be someone who uses social media in a mature way, to create, inspire, and encourage, to share meaty information, to make connections with other people if not real community?

Can you take a spiritually and emotionally mature approach?

If you do, I am sure you’ll make connections, learn new things, and find some incredible books to read.

While you're at it, won't you connect with Lake Drive Books on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter or even YouTube?

Gratefully,

David Morris, Publisher

Thanks so much for your support of Lake Drive Books. We are reliant on word of mouth (I know, that’s a weird image) in book publishing, so would you consider sending this note to a friend letting them know about something you liked in this newsletter or about our publishing in general?

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Hey Me, Hello Me!

Lake Drive Books Authors in the Media and Recent Blog Post on the Topic of Social Media

Is It Social Media, Or Is It Us?

Here’s a question though about all that: Is it the technology, or is it us?

Discussion about this post