Walter Wangerin

  • 24

    Catalog books

  • 27

    Works

  • 1987 to 2010

    Strongest span

Who This Author Is

Walter Wangerin writes with theological imagination, exploring marriage, mourning, and faith through prose that reads like sermon and story combined. His books range from practical guidance in As for Me and My House to the mythic grief of the Book of Sorrows and expansive biblical retellings in The Book of God.

Wangerin balances pastoral care and literary drama: Crafting Your Marriage To Last offers concrete counsel, while The Orphean Passages and The Book of God rework scripture and myth into theatrical, character-driven meditations. Together these works interrogate belief, loss, and the possibilities of redemption with plain clarity and dramatic force.

Best Place To Start

Author At A Glance

Best known for: Faith-driven fiction • Biblical retellings and dramatizations • Poetic, lyrical prose

Genres and themes: Christian fiction • Spiritual drama • Mythic and biblical reimagining

Who this author is best for: For readers who want meditative, story-driven explorations of faith that blend poetic language with dramatic narrative.

Start with a single novel or the shorter Book of Sorrows to sample his style before tackling the longer Book of God.

Top Books To Start With

  1. Preparing for Jesus: Meditations on the Coming of Christ, Advent, Christmas and the Kingdom

    Zondervan • 1999 • standard commitment

    UPB note: one of the most common used-copy publishers for this author • year signal: 1999 • 195 pages.

  2. Whole Prayer: Speaking & Listening to God

    Zondervan • 1998 • standard commitment

    UPB note: one of the most common used-copy publishers for this author • year signal: 1998 • 206 pages.

  3. Book of Sorrows, The

    Zondervan • 1996 • standard commitment

    It helps anchor a specific period of this author’s publishing run instead of blending into the undated shelf clutter.

  4. Mourning into Dancing

    Zondervan • 1996 • standard commitment

    UPB note: one of the most common used-copy publishers for this author • year signal: 1996 • 304 pages.

  5. The Orphean Passages: The Drama of Faith

    Zondervan • 1996 • standard commitment

    UPB note: one of the most common used-copy publishers for this author • year signal: 1996 • 303 pages.

  6. Little Lamb, Who Made Thee?

    Zondervan • 1993 • standard commitment

    UPB note: one of the most common used-copy publishers for this author • year signal: 1993 • 216 pages.

  7. Reliving the Passion: Meditations on the Suffering, Death, and the Resurrection of Jesus as Recorded

    Zondervan • 1992 • quick commitment

    UPB note: one of the most common used-copy publishers for this author • year signal: 1992 • 156 pages.

  8. Book of Sorrows (Hodder Christian Paperbacks)

    Hodder & Stoughton Religious • 1992 • standard commitment

    UPB note: year signal: 1992 • 240 pages.

  9. As For Me And My House Crafting Your Marriage To Last

    Thomas Nelson Inc • 1990 • standard commitment

    UPB note: year signal: 1990 • 274 pages.

  10. The Book of God: The Bible as a Novel

    Zondervan • 2000 • commitment varies by edition

    UPB note: one of the most common used-copy publishers for this author • year signal: 2000.

How The Picks Compare

  • Preparing for Jesus: Meditations on the Coming of Christ, Advent, Christmas and the Kingdom is the easier short commitment, while Whole Prayer: Speaking & Listening to God asks for more reading time up front.
  • Whole Prayer: Speaking & Listening to God gives you an earlier look at this author’s shelf, while Preparing for Jesus: Meditations on the Coming of Christ, Advent, Christmas and the Kingdom leans later in the catalog.

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