My Jesus Year

“Fascinating and thought-provoking. . . . A witty memoir that should appeal to Christians and Jews alike (as well as Wiccans, Jains and Bahais . . . ).” —A.J. Jacobs, author of The Know-It-All and The Year of Living Biblically

Part memoir, part spiritual quest, part anthropologist’s mission, Benyamin Cohen’s My Jesus Year is a humorous, personal, ultimately inspirational exploration of Evangelical Christianity by the son of an Orthodox Rabbi on his journey through America’s Bible belt.

During his year-long exploration, Cohen sees the best and the worst of Christianity. Throughout, he keeps an open heart and mind, a good sense of humor, and takes what he learns from Christianity to reflect on his own faith and relationship to God. By year’s end, to Cohen’s surprise, his search for universal answers and truths in the Bible Belt actually make him a better Jew.

“Cohen writes that what he learned from the year’s spiritual journey was that there are many paths people take to find faith in God and there are more similarities than differences in various religions. ‘Hanging out with Jesus has made me a better Jew,’ he writes. Amen to that.” —Booklist

“[A] heartfelt examination of one man’s religious faith and . . . a revelatory tour of the landscape of Christian life in the U.S. today.” —Shelf Awareness

“A delicious olio of guilt, longing, surprise, wonder, unease and . . . humor . . . One need not be Jewish, Christian or even a seeker to enjoy this wonderful loop around the Bible Belt.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review