"This Is Why I Came," a novel by Mary Rakow




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"In a gorgeous melding of fable, theology, and poetry, Mary Rakow offers us versions of Bible stories that restore the gift of those stories' strangeness, which is to say their deep humanness. This disquieting, consoling novel is a book of questions, a book of doors: a companion for the long night of our unknowing."

—Garth Greenwell, author of What Belongs to You



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Guest Blog: Art & Understanding

From Mary: There is a close alignment, in my thinking, between the spiritual and the aesthetic, that they are twins. From the start, while working with LaunchPodium to design the book’s website, Robert’s aesthetic was everywhere apparent. I soon came to value his eye. Design seemed important … [Read more...]

GALLERY

Select Chapters Part I
Introduction - This is Why I CameIntroduction
Adam the Maker - This is Why I CameAdam the Maker
Cain and Abel- This is Why I CameCain and Abel
Cain and the Dream of the City - This is Why I CameCain and the Dream
of the City
 
NoahNoah
Sarah and AbrahamSarah and Abraham
Isaac in the FieldIsaac in the Field
Isaac and Rebekah - This is Why I CameIsaac and Rebekah
 
Moses and the Burning Bush - This is Why I CameMoses and the
Burning Bush
1-14-moses-and-memory-003Moses and Memory
Moses and the Dream of the Law - This is Why I CameMoses and the
Dream of the Law
The Queen of Sheba - This is Why I CameThe Queen of Sheba
 
Jonah - This is Why I CameJonah
 









Select Chapters Part II

2_1_annunciationAnnunciation
Weeping Woman 1937 by Pablo Picasso 1881-1973Annunciation, II
joseph-decision-comp-004Joseph's Decision
5---the-nativity-of-jesus-002The Nativity of Jesus
 
2_6_mary_loving-kindnessMary Loving-kindness
2_8_the_slaying_of_infantsThe Slaying of Infants
2_9_the_murder_of_zachariah-002The Murder of Zachariah
2_10_holy_familyHoly Family
 
John and Jesus as Children - This Is Why I CameJohn and Jesus as Children
2_16_the_baptism_of_jesusThe Baptism of Jesus
2_23_legionLegion
Mary Magdalen - This Is Why I CameMary Magdalen
 
2_30_john_the_belovedJohn the Beloved
640px-jaume_serra_-_the_last_supper_-_wga21168The Last Supper/
Remember Me
2_33_the_place_of_the_skull-crop-003The Place of the Skull
2_34_joseph_at_golgatha-002Joseph at Golgatha
 
2_36_godGod
2_42_zaccheusZaccheus
2_44_mary_the_mother_of_jesus_later_in_lifeMary the Mother of
Jesus Later in Life
2_45_joseph_the_dreamer-002Joseph the Dreamer
 
2_46_dormition_of_the_blessed_virginDormition of the
Blessed Virgin
2_47_jonah_in_the_21st_century_002Jonah in the 21st Century
 

ART REFLECTIONS

ABOUT MARY RAKOW

Mary Rakow, Ph.D., a theologian with graduate degrees from Harvard Divinity School and Boston College, writes with deep feeling and a questioning faith. This Is Why I Came earned outstanding reviews in The Boston Globe, The Atlantic, Harvard Divinity Bulletin, Commonweal, Christian Century, O Magazine, Ploughshares.
 
Graduating magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from UC Riverside, inducted into Alpha Sigma Nu for her doctoral work, Rakow is a Lannan Foundation Literary Fellow.  She received two Lannan residencies and two residencies at Whale & Star, in the studio of Enrique Martinez Celaya, where she wrote the first book length treatment of his work, Martinez Celaya, Working Methods (2014).
 
Rakow’s debut novel, The Memory Room, received outstanding reviews and was shortlisted for the Stanford University International Saroyan Prize in Literature, a PEN USA/West Finalist in Fiction and was listed among the Best Books of the West by The Los Angeles Times.
 
A freelance editor living in the Bay Area, Rakow works with clients who are both local and global.  For editing or mentoring please visit www.maryrakow.com.