Born into a devout Christian family, Betty Smartt Carter spent her childhood chalking Bible verses on the sidewalk and declaring that she would be a missionary. She wanted mystery, she wanted miracles! But as she grew up, the road became more difficult and complex. With relentless honesty and a good dose of humor, Carter takes us on her journey toward faith -- a journey full of tears and joys, setbacks and small triumphs, moments of grace and times of excruciating self-discovery.

In recounting her life, Carter deals frankly with the question of suffering: "God's battering is not easy, his burning is not quick. Many a day I'd have preferred a nice aneurysm." But she reminds us that no matter how much pain or regret our lives may hold, no matter how little faith we have, there are two truths worth remembering: God loves us, and He's good.


Read more about Home is Always the Place You Just Left in Books & Culture.

"Ruthlessly honest and seriously funny, this memoir of a heart aching for God is one of the finest contemporary spiritual autobiographies."
John Wilson, editor, Books & Culture

This God-centered orientation sets Carter's testimony apart.

Books & Culture

May 2003

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Carter. . .will find an audience with readers who have found their childhood faith challenged by the brutal reality of life. Evangelical Christians--especially those who were raised in the church--will find much to recognize in this touching, sometimes disturbing search for a relationship with Jesus.

Arkansas Democrat Gazette

May 2003

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In this expressive spiritual autobiography, the author circles from the implanted Christian faith of her evangelical past to a mature faith born of self-awareness and suffering. A novelist and book reviewer for Christian journals like Books & Culture, Carter has the ability to empathetically chronicle the conservative faith of her childhood while appreciating its idiosyncrasies and parochialism. The youngest child of a homemaker mother and an oft-absent conservative Presbyterian pastor, Carter was driven by the need to find people who would make her feel completely loved and wholly known. "No simple physical or intellectual desire could stand up to this emotional one-and that was to become drunk on another soul, on the very being of someone outside myself." With persistent candor, the writer recounts her times of sadness, of relational obsession, and of sporadic family discord. At book's end, Carter sees herself as the object of longing for a pursuing and loving God.

Publishers Weekly

April 2003

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