Embarrassed: Living with a faith that makes no sense to my friends

“Jesus was never the problem: following him was a no-brainer and a firm choice. But Graham found himself often ill at ease in church and around Christians. His story is one of honest embarrassment, and makes for compelling reading for anyone. Why would anyone be attentive to the rubbish pictures of God we've been taught? Which God don't you want anything to do with? Can we be brutal and honest and encounter things that are hard to live with and harder still to name? I kept reading.” — Andy Raine, author and a founder of the Northumbria Community

“Graham Turner tells his story in a light-hearted and delightfully entertaining manner. At the same time, he draws our attention to the absurdities in much religious discourse today. His willingness to share the tension between other people’s expectations and what life was actually like, with all the doubts and failures, will help readers to reflect on their own questions and tensions. To read the book is both fun and full of insight.” — Jonathan Clatworthy, theological author and Church of England priest

Embarrassed is the honest story of one man’s struggle with a faith that was important to him but meant so little to his non-believing friends. Coloured with tender emotion, misunderstanding and desire to follow what he thought was right, Embarrassed tells of Graham Turner’s “coming out” about the shame he has carried all his life.

He felt awkward when his friends commented, “You seem like a nice guy, how come you believe this nonsense?” Crippling embarrassment confused and wounded him; it alienated him from many of the people he knew and valued who did not “do God”.

But, in time, this awkwardness became the catalyst that led him to discover a deeper, more generous and less simplistic appreciation of life in all its fullness. This is not a heroic story of triumph over adversity, but the discovery of goodness in all things through an experience of life falling apart and decades of being ill at ease. His is a story of discovery, fulfilment and hope.

About the Author

For over thirty years, Graham Turner served in a variety of parishes, mainly in urban neighbourhoods, before becoming a full-time prison chaplain. Through community enterprises and businesses, he worked to overcome social injustice while also exploring a range of contemplative traditions to deepen his own faith as well as others’.

After an initial engineering apprenticeship and electronics degree, he studied theology to enter the Anglican ministry. Now retired, he works as a mentor, spiritual director and trustee of a poverty reduction charity.

He is passionate about removing the mystique that surrounds faith so others can embrace the mystery that can transform us and our world.