Brennan Manning’s brand new book (his first memoir!) releases next Tuesday.
But I’m giving away TEN COPIES here at the blog today…
(DETAILS ABOUT GIVEAWAY ARE AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST…)
The book is called All Is Grace: A Ragamuffin Memoir
All Is Grace is full of story, wisdom, honesty, hope, and healing… you’ll be passionately moved to tears reading Brennan’s story.
For the first time (at least, that I can remember), due to his declining health, Brennan had help writing/finishing this book. Sadly, he’s not able to do any press around this book, either. But I had the privilege of interviewing Brennan’s co-writer, John Blase, about his work on All Is Grace…
Details on how to win a copy of Brennan’s book are below the interview…
ME: First of all, John, I must say thank you for helping Brennan tell his story. All of the passion and sweat and tears that you’ve invested into All is Grace is an offering of grace to those of us who now get to experience these words, Brennan’s precious story. I’m so grateful. These words have filled me. So thank you.
Okay, first question: Many memoirs/autobiographies by well-known people have co-writers (and many have ghost writers), but I get the feeling that the relationship between you and Brennan is a little different than the average author/co-author relationship. Can you tell us a little about your friendship to Brennan? How did you meet? And how did you two come to work together on Brennan’s memoir?
JOHN: Sure, Matthew. I first met Brennan four years ago at a publishing convention. He had signed the contract for his memoir and I was to be his editor, so I wanted him to put my name to my face. He had to leave for another engagement immediately after he spoke and I was to be his escort to the airport. So, my maiden handshake w/Brennan was getting into a limo. It was just the two of us and he sat at one end while I sat in the other. It was pretty awkward for a few minutes, but he graciously carried the conversation.
Initially, Brennan worked with another writer on his memoir but that didn’t go so well. I was asked to step in and pick up the pieces. Brennan has always seemed to trust me. I don’t know why that is, but he always has…its felt special. I’m extremely grateful.
ME: I met Brennan once. While working at CCM magazine, I had the privilege of interviewing him. One of the things that overwhelmed me about Brennan was the raw humility he revealed. His simple life seemed to be much more than just something he pursued, it encompassed who he was. When you first met Brennan, was there something about him that surprised you or overwhelmed you or something you just didn’t expect?
JOHN: Brennan was so fragile. He was having significant difficulty with his vision then so I had to escort him through the airport, through security, and all the way to the gate. We shuffled along together, him literally on my arm…it was probably a hoot to watch.
Funny story – he offered to tip me when we reached his gate, pulled out a honkin’ wad of cash and said ‘how much do you need?’ I blushed and waved him away. He looked sad that I didn’t accept any money. One thing I’ve learned from Brennan – always accept the cookies.
ME: Those of us who have read Brennan’s books or heard him speak know that almost every nugget of wisdom or truth that Brennan shared was birthed out of his story. How did you and Brennan choose which parts of his to story to share?
JOHN: Brennan has been (still is) criticized for just reheating old stories and slapping a new cover on them every few years, so we intentionally tried to tell fresh stories. I felt the reader deserved that, as did Brennan. Now you have to play a few of the old hits though, like its fine for Little River Band to try some new stuff, but we gotta hear “Night Owl.” There are a few familiar stories in there.
We were never necessarily anxious about it, but I tried to question in the direction of those darker, untold corners – e.g., his marriage/divorce, the relationship w/his parents. Some of those sessions were quite intense, especially when recalling his childhood. That was not a happy time for him.
ME: And I must ask… what processes did you go through to ensure that you were capturing Brennan’s unique tone? Because you did. So well. As you know, Brennan is one of the few writers in Christendom whose words carry a undeniable color, a tenderness and humility, and both of these qualities show up throughout All is Grace–how did you capture “Brennan” with such perfection?
JOHN: Perfection? Shucks. We actually did a Vulcan mindmeld that proved quite effective…naw, I’d read all of Brennan’s books so I felt I knew the texture of his language. And I had worked with him closely on The Furious Longing of God, a book taken mainly from his retreats and he was quite pleased with the resulting ‘sound.’ I did vet several chapters to his ex-wife, Roslyn, and the Notorious Sinners asking ‘does this sound like him?’ They kept saying ‘yes’ so we kept rolling. We also worked with a great editor – Nicci Jordan Hubert – she kept it on the rails, ‘it’ meaning tone.
ME: How has knowing and working with Brennan changed you or changed your understanding of “grace”? (Or both…)
JOHN: A lot of people have a ‘flat earth’ theory of grace: you go so far, past some moral point on the horizon, and you fall off the edge of God’s mercy. Working with Brennan has blown that theory to smithereens…God’s grace knows nothing of horizons…it goes round and round.
There’s a phrase used late in the book – vulgar grace – ‘a grace that amazes as it offends.’ We stole that from Robert Farrar Capon. That phrase haunts me…I’m not sure we understand grace as much as tremble before it.
ME: For so many of us, Brennan introduced us to the concept of what it means to be a “ragamuffin”? Why do you believe the idea of being a (or owning the title of) “ragamuffin” has resonated with so many people?
JOHN: A great deal of the ragamuffin resonance was timing…Brennan came on the scene when the legalist icecap was just beginning to melt and he was like sunshine to SAD people, both Catholic and Protestant alike. On a visceral level, the ragamuffin evokes the image of a child and I believe we all desperately hope that the kingdom of heaven really does belong to such as that. Brennan gave us permission to be kids again…that’s gold, man.
ME: How is the Brennan Manning who wrote “Abba’s Child” and “The Ragamuffin Gospel” different from the Brennan Manning who wrote “All is Grace”? Has he changed at all?
JOHN: This is hinted at in the book – if he ever was a ragamuffin, its now. He’s really had to wrestle with God’s favor apart from the traveling and lights and crowds. It hasn’t been easy. He also relocated to New Jersey to be close to his sister and leaving his beloved New Orleans was a bitter pill.
He may have changed a little bit, but not much. For that I’m glad.
ME: Do you think that Brennan has ever regretted being so raw/honest about his life? Because he seemed to embrace that in and outside of being “Brennan Manning.” Once, I emailed him to ask if he would consider endorsing a book that I had written. At the time, he declined because–and he wrote this in the email– “My health is failing and I’m depressed. Pray for me.” Is he always that blunt?
JOHN: Ever? I don’t know, maybe. But that rawnesty was part of the draw, like the ragamuffin image. Always bluntly honest? Yep.
ME: Lastly, how is Brennan doing today?
JOHN: He would say ‘I’m trying to let God love me.’ And I believe him.
ME: Thank you, John, for taking the time to answer these questions… and for loving Brennan and serving him with such grace and honor.
JOHN: My pleasure…thanks for your questions.
How to win one of the 10 copies of All Is Grace.
1) Leave a comment
2) If you RETWEET this giveaway, leave a second comment
3) “Like” me on Facebook? Leave a third comment!
4) If you mention this giveaway on Facebook, leave a fourth comment!
Good luck! And much ‘grace’…
DISCLAIMER: Winners will be chosen on at random on September 28. The books are provided by David C. Cook. Matthew Paul Turner received no compensation for running this giveaway…
Enter to win Brennan Manning’s memoir ‘All is Grace’! (Please share) is a post from: Jesus Needs New PR
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