In Brief: Wayfaring: A Guide to Guidance

By Larry Lynn Southard. Self-published, 2023. 228 pages. £25 (about $32)/hardcover.

In this thought-provoking book, Irish Friend Larry Lynn Southard describes God as a verb. Southard identifies as a Quaker but specifies in the front matter that the book does not necessarily represent the views of the Religious Society of Friends. The author is guided by the belief that Jesus aligned himself with the Way and that he is the Way. Thus, the title word Wayfaring is revealed to mean “the act of following . . . God in verb form.” Parallels are also drawn between Jesus’s teachings in the liberal Christian tradition and Taoist concepts.

The volume offers advices and queries to help readers simplify their lives by resisting consumerism and reducing mental clutter. Advices include the suggestion to make oneself inconspicuous in social interactions and to love others without judgment. Queries ask readers to consider how following the Way has impacted their priorities, whether they sufficiently revere nature, and whether they consider themselves conscientious objectors.

The author argues that following the Way quells anxiety and imbues life with meaning and direction:

The Way is known by experiencing reality as an interactive guiding path or road or course—and we travel the path by “Wayfaring.” If you allow the Way to steer you, and you refrain from backseat driving, the Way will take you where you need to go; show you what you need to see; point out what needs to be done.

Wayfaring is currently available through the author’s website or the Quaker Bookshop in London (also online) so Friends outside of the United Kingdom will need to factor in higher shipping costs.