Crossing the Waters: Following Jesus through the Storms, the Fish, the Doubt, and the Seas Paperback – October 1, 2016

I had been waiting eagerly for Leslie Leyland Fields' new memoir to appear. Her previous Alaskan and Christian memoir left me breathless, Surviving the Island of Grace. What new and masterful merging of her life's stories and her Christian wisdom would come from her pen? So that's the background. Four days ago, I tore open the Amazon envelope and there was Crossing the Waters. My next two days did not belong to me. Fields held me in her grip while I streaked through her book, eagerly rejoicing, eagerly pressing on for more. Fields uses her honestly, her forthrightness, her vulnerability, her faith, her doubt, her practicality, her bravery, her anger and her succinctness--all of which are innate to her and perhaps, at least in potential, to all of us--as the emotional foundation of her story. On this foundation, she builds her story. Her two stories, really. One is her own story of the high and the low of everyday events during a single season of salmon fishing with her husband, children, and helpers. Her other story is of her sojourn around the shores of the Sea of Galilee, talking fishing with modern Peters and Andrews and Johns--and talking Jesus with them, too, who are Jews. An Alaskan caster of nets in 2016, Fields sails with the Israeli casters of nets and experiences a storm with them. She brings the earlier prototypes of those same fishermen, from 2,000 years ago, to us in her story, and she enlivens them as she does so. She humanizes them, right through from the moment they are called upon to drop their nets and to follow. She shows us their doubts and their angers, and then their joys, right up until the end. Fields' two stories twist together on the page, like the strands of a net. It is I who am caught in Fields' net--in Fields' story's net, woven of words. Other readers may experience the same thing; I think it would be hard to read Crossing the Waters and avoid being caught in Fields' net. This is so because Fields is not only a writer who possesses exciting skill, she is a skillful writer who possesses a poet's heart. There is a poetic and confessional cadence in the book, which brings the reader, step by step, onward and upward, through Fields' doubts about Jesus, through the apostles' doubts about Jesus, through the reader's own doubts about Jesus (at least mine), all the way to her final two pages--which are triumphant. And then--like any human still asking why despite triumph--her words come down from triumph and are real.

I could not put Crossing the Waters down. I was hooked. Fields' true stories from her family's commercial fishing business based on a remote island off the coast of Kodiak, Alaska, are mixed with scenes from the Gospels. Every scene is alive and real. I tried to force myself to stop reading at the end of each chapter in order to savor the insights and encouragement intertwined with the narration, but I couldn't. This is a book I will reread and reread. I purchased five extra copies for Christmas gifts and already need to order more.Crossing the Waters isn't your typical "Christian Life/Spiritual Growth book." It doesn't attempt to solve life issues with formulas. Fields dives into murky waters and surfaces with questions and feelings that plague us all. Any reader will identify with Fields' transparent heart and her question: What does it mean to follow Jesus in the midst of our flesh-and-blood everyday lives? But as she writes about her faith struggles and the disciples' struggles, she always takes the reader back to Jesus. Fields doesn't minimize the pain in today's world, but she shows us how God saves us through the storm and suffering. She speaks to our fears and doubts, reminding us that Jesus is enough.I've been a Christian fro 42 years and have read boatloads of books on spiritual growth. Crossing the Waters is among the best. I'm not surprised it won Christianity Today's 2017 Book Award for Christian Living/Discipleship. The study guide at the end of the book also makes it wonderful to read and discuss with others, whether for a book group or Bible study group.My only regret is that I can't give it a ten star rating.

Tremendous book, great for new and mature Christians alike. Also a great book for someone who simply wants to know more about Jesus and the basic Gospel message. Easy to read, very personal conversational style of writing, and best of all, a chance to know Jesus in the same way the first disciples came to know him -- as fisherman picked fresh from the docks and the boats of life. Leslie Leyland Fields shares an amazing story of life from a perspective few of us have ever experienced, the salmon fisherman's daily life in Alaska, interwoven with her heartfelt joy of sharing the Gospel message that comes alive daily in that same seashore when you imagine Jesus in those fishing boats calling Simon to come and join him, and fish for people.

If you are hankering for a great Alaska fishing yarn, hanker no more. Leslie Leyland Field’s Crossing he Waters will feed that hanker like few books out there. Her skilled storytelling is spot on with the sights, sounds, smells, and feel of the greatest salmon fishery on the Planet. I know; I’ve been there.Crossing the Waters is an honest book. It mingles Alaskan and Palestinian waters seamlessly, refreshingly free from tiresome gospel platitudes. You’ll come away with a deeper understanding of what it means to follow the Master Fisherman. You will come to know four flawed, hardy fishing partners and gather a wealth of Galilean lore.Not interested in theology? Read Crossing Waters anyhow. Enjoy the stories and judge for yourself whether Leslie’s different take on Christianity makes sense. It sure does to me. I’ll be adding more of her writings to my must-read pile.

I was not excited about her fishing ventures, but she did a good job on the reflective questions in the back of the book.