The Books That Made Us: Deconstructing the Modern Christian Classics

What do you do when you realize that the books you were taught to revere imbued you with false perspectives on humanity, society, and morals?

This is the question editor and journalist Rebecca Bratten Weiss poses, as she revisits beloved but problematic Christian writers like G.K. Chesterton, T.S. Eliot, J.R.R. Tolkien, Evelyn Waugh, and C.S. Lewis. While documenting her journey out of conservative Christian culture, Bratten Weiss sorts through the rubble of old beliefs, discerning which to discard and which to keep.

The Books That Made Us reminds readers how powerfully literature can shape us--and how devastatingly it can harm us.

Author: Rebecca Bratten Weiss
Publisher: Orbis Books
Published: 10/29/2025
Pages: 256
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.70lbs
Size: 8.20h x 5.40w x 0.40d
ISBN: 9781626986428

About the Author

Rebecca Bratten Weiss is digital editor at U.S. Catholic magazine, co-host of the Glad You Asked podcast, and a regular contributor to the National Catholic Reporter. She has published extensively on religion, culture, and politics, and is co-editor (with Jessica Mesman) of Sick Pilgrims: An Anthology of Catholic Spiritual Autobiography