Reimagining the Good Life with Amy Julia Becker Amy Julia Becker

What's the difference between limitations and brokenness? What does it mean to be blessed? How can a dual diagnosis of Down syndrome and autism be a part of a flourishing life? Micha Boyett, a writer, poet, and mom, joins Amy Julia Becker to talk about her new book Blessed Are the Rest of Us. They explore the intersection of blessing, limits, and longing within the context of the Beatitudes, including:
The meaning of 'blessed' and how it relates to the gifts and challenges of being humanFlourishing in the midst of grief and hardshipThe importance of insisting on presence and inclusion for people with disabilitiesHow to recognize and accept limitations without equating them with brokennessUsing our imaginations, minds, and bodies to move toward a new vision of the good lifeWorkshop with Amy Julia: Reimagining Family Life With Disability
Guest Bio:
Micha Boyett is the author of Blessed Are the Rest of Us: How Limits and Longing Make Us Whole. She is cohost of the award-winning The Lucky Few podcast, creator of The Slow Way podcast and newsletter, and has written for publications such as the Washington Post and Christianity Today. Micha lives with her husband and three children in northern New Jersey and works part-time as a youth pastor at Good Shepherd Church in New York City.

Connect Online:
Website: michaboyett.comInstagram: @michaboyettThreads: @michaboyettOn the Podcast:
{The Transition to Adulthood} Amy Julia on the Lucky Few Podcast{Living into the Really Real} Micha on Amy Julia’s podcastThe BeatitudesThe Sermon on the Mount and Human Flourishing: A Theological Commentary by Jonathan T. PenningtonNick Cave on Krista Tippett’s On Being podcastAmy Julia’s book White Picket FencesThe Slow Way podcast and newsletterWorkshop with Amy Julia: Reimagining Family Life With DisabilityTRANSCRIPT: amyjuliabecker.com/micha-boyett/
YouTube Channel: video with closed captions
Let’s Reimagine the Good Life together. Find out more at amyjuliabecker.com.
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{Please note that we discuss abuse in this episode.}
How do we love people across our political and social divides? What are the costs and gifts of loving our political neighbor? Nancy French, author of Ghosted: An American Story, talks with Amy Julia Becker about:
Her experiences as a ghostwriter for GOP politicians and her decision to leave the industryPolarization within the church and the political landscapeInadequate responses to abuse from both the church and the cultureThe cost of speaking outFinding hope and connection in surprising waysNew Workshop with Amy Julia: Reimagining Family Life With Disability
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GUEST BIO:
Nancy French has collaborated on multiple books for celebrities - five of which made the New York Times best seller list - and written books under her own name.  She has conducted a multi-year journalistic investigation, written commentary, and published for the nation’s most prominent newspapers and magazines. Her memoir, Ghosted, is a story of poverty, success and the rise and fall of political influence. She lives in Franklin, Tennessee with her husband – journalist David French – and family.
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CONNECT ONLINE
Website: nancyfrench.comInstagram: @nancyjanefrenchFacebook: @NancyAndersonFrenchTwitter: @NancyAFrench_
ON THE PODCAST:
New Workshop with Amy Julia: Reimagining Family Life With DisabilityGhosted: An American Story by Nancy FrenchThe Washington Post: What it’s like to experience the 2016 election as both a conservative and a sex abuse survivor by Nancy FrenchNancy’s Kanakuk Kamp investigationDavid French at the New York Times_
TRANSCRIPT: amyjuliabecker.com/nancy-french/
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YouTube Channel: video with closed captions
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Let’s Reimagine the Good Life together. Find out more at amyjuliabecker.com.
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Why does it matter that most churches don’t welcome people with disabilities in leadership? If a church excludes people with disabilities, is it really a church? Rev. Dr. Andrew Draper, coauthor of Disabling Leadership, talks with Amy Julia Becker about:
Ways in which churches exclude and marginalize people with disabilitiesWhy it’s essential to centralize people with disabilities in church life and leadershipHow disability inclusion benefits the whole congregationReimagining church employment practices to create opportunities for people with disabilitiesWhy churches are tempted to pursue efficiency and productivity, and the invitation to a different wayHow to minister in the midst of humannessWorkshop: Reimagining Family Life with Disability
EVENT: Festival of Faith & Writing
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Guest Bio:
Rev. Dr. Andrew T. Draper (PhD, University of Aberdeen) is founding teaching pastor at Urban Light Community Church in Muncie, Indiana, and adjunct theology faculty at Anderson School of Theology and Winebrenner Seminary. He is the author of A Theology of Race and Place, Christian Mission and Poverty, and numerous articles on race, disability, and the church. He is the coauthor of Disabling Leadership: A Practical Theology for the Broken Body of Christ.
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Connect Online:
Read Andrew's blog.Follow him on Twitter: @AndrewTDraper_
On the Podcast:
Disabling Leadership: A Practical Theology for the Broken Body of Christ by Andrew T. Draper, Jody Michele, and Andrea MaeBrian BrockI Corinthians 12Friendship House (Western Theological Seminary)Friendship House (Aberdeen)Workshop: Reimagining Family Life with Disability_
TRANSCRIPT: amyjuliabecker.com/andrew-draper/
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YouTube: video with closed captions
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Let’s reimagine the good life together. Find out more at amyjuliabecker.com.


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Why would a Christian author immerse her stories in darkness? Why would she use violent imagery that directly relates to Christianity, race, class, disability, and illness? And how can this darkness guide us toward the importance of love in the flesh, of personal connection and vulnerability? In this conversation, Dr. Jessica Hooten Wilson, author of Flannery O’Connor’s Why Do the Heathen Rage? A Behind-the-Scenes Look at a Work in Progress, and Amy Julia Becker explore:
Flannery O'Connor's unique perspective on faith and darknessThe portrayal of disability in O’Connor’s storiesLove in the abstract versus love in the fleshChallenges of publishing an unfinished manuscriptHow the prophetic imagination in O'Connor's work confronts the dominant culture's illusions about the good lifeRegister for the Festival of Faith & Writing
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Guest Bio:
Jessica Hooten Wilson (PhD, Baylor University) is the Fletcher Jones Endowed Chair of Great Books at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. She is the author or editor of eight books, including Flannery O’Connor’s Why Do the Heathen Rage? A Behind-the-Scenes Look at a Work in Progress, Reading for the Love of God, The Scandal of Holiness (winner of a Christianity Today 2023 Award of Merit), and Giving the Devil His Due: Demonic Authority in the Fiction of Flannery O’Connor and Fyodor Dostoevsky (winner of a 2018 Christianity Today Book of the Year Award). Wilson speaks around the world on topics as varied as Russian novelists, Catholic thinkers, and Christian ways of reading.
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Connect Online:
Website: https://jessicahootenwilson.com/Instagram: @drjessicahootenwilsonFacebook: @JessicaHootenWilsonTwitter: @HootenWilsonOn the Podcast:
Flannery O’Connor’s Why Do the Heathen Rage? A Behind-the-Scenes Look at a Work in ProgressRegister for the Festival of Faith & WritingTRANSCRIPT: amyjuliabecker.com/jessica-hooten-wilson
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Let’s Reimagine the Good Life together through the lens of disability, faith, and culture. Find out more at amyjuliabecker.com.
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Is blindness an incidental characteristic, like hair color? Or is it an identity? What language should we use to talk about disability, and why does it matter? Andrew Leland, author of The Country of the Blind, joins Amy Julia Becker on the podcast for a conversation examining:
Blindness and identityThe importance of language and the use of metaphors in relation to disabilityHow the experience of disability can involve beauty, power, and lossThe role of allies in advocating with disabled individualsHow Andrew has reimagined the good life_
Amy Julia’s upcoming events
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Guest Bio:
Andrew Leland is a writer, audio producer, editor, and teacher living in Western Massachusetts. His first book, The Country of the Blind: A Memoir at the End of Sight, about the world of blindness (and figuring out his place in it), was published in July 2023 by Penguin Press. You can find links to order a copy here.
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Connect Online:
Website: www.andrewleland.orgInstagram: @quailty_
On the Podcast:
Amy Julia’s upcoming eventsLeland’s New Yorker essay “How to Be Blind”National Federation of the BlindSara Hendren’s book and podcast episode with Amy JuliaAmy S. F. Lutz’s Chasing the Intact MindDeath Panel podcastJohn McWhorter’s NYT essay: “When We Do, and Don’t, Need a New Phrase to Describe Reality”Disability Language Style Guide TRANSCRIPT: amyjuliabecker.com/andrew-leland/
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YouTube: video with closed captions
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Reimagine the Good Life with me through the lens of disability, faith, and culture as we challenge assumptions about the good life, proclaim the inherent belovedness of every human being, and envision a world of belonging. Find out more at amyjuliabecker.com.
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This podcast has a new name: Reimagining the Good Life. If you’re asking, “Why a name change?” and “Why now?”—I have answers! Author and teacher Patricia Clarke talks with me about:
How disability challenges assumptions about the good lifeAccepting limitations and finding freedom within themHow faith and culture shape our understanding of the good lifeThe power of reimagining what’s possibleWhat all of this has to do with changing the podcast name!_
GUEST BIO:
Patricia Clarke is a speaker, teacher, and writer who brings people from different backgrounds together to talk about faith. She holds a master’s degree in English Literature, a Barnabas Counseling Certificate, and is currently enrolled in the Master of Theology program at Fuller Theological Seminary. In her new workbook, Lifted by Love, Clarke weaves her personal faith, love of storytelling, and teaching skills together to bring the wisdom of the Bible into daily life. She currently lives in Richmond, Virginia with her husband and four children. For up-to-date information, follow her on Instagram @patriciaclarkestudies or visit her website to subscribe to her updates: patriciaclarke.org.
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On the Podcast:
Patricia Clarke’s book Lifted by LoveSteve Perkins at Greenhouse CoachingAmy Julia’s book White Picket FencesAndrew Leland’s book Country of the BlindMicha Boyett’s book Blessed Are the Rest of UsTreasures in the Dark by Katherine Wolfe and Alex WolfJohn McWhorter’s misunderstanding of disability Subscribe to Amy Julia’s updates_
TRANSCRIPT: amyjuliabecker.com/podcast-reimagining-good-life/
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YouTube Channel: video with closed captions
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Reimagine the Good Life with me through the lenses of disability, faith, and culture. Find out more at amyjuliabecker.com.
Connect with me:
Instagram Facebook YouTube Website Thanks for listening!