Bell takes his widest angle yet on the nature of life, mixing those questions with humor, humility, family history and—surprisingly—a hefty dose of quantum physics. It's an odd combination, but (as the title suggests) it's all connected, and it all speaks to living as a human being on this vexing, beautiful planet ... Bell's story, in both form and content, is not remotely linear. Like the swirling galaxies that have earned his abiding curiosity, the narrative twists back on itself, returning again and again to those enduring questions. Bell is less interested in answers than he is in diving into the complicated layers of life and love, and learning to embrace every bit of his own story ... The Bell who appears in these pages is thoughtful, fun-loving, whimsical and kind. Most of all, he is held in thrall by a deep curiosity and wonder: about the universe, the world, the human heart, and every single story that might possibly shed the tiniest bit of light on any of the above.
He is an expert at identifying and making sense of paradoxes, whether referencing the continuity of generations or the fragility of maintaining relationships ... Bell looks at the world, at the universe, with both childlike wonder and insatiable curiosity. A lovely, poetic meditation on what brings us together.
Pastor Bell...attempts to cover a lot in this semiautobiographical look at the meaning of life—and that’s part of the problem. Written in Bell’s signature poetic style, the work is at its best when examining his family of origin and its history of unacknowledged grief, which has had far-reaching generational effects. Bell’s subsequent storytelling about his career arc, including his ministerial rise and fall, lacks the intensity of the early part of the book and proves less engaging ... While...Bell’s focus on the power of and necessity for love is reassuring, the abstract quality of the prose might lose some readers. Bell’s use of line breaks for emphasis when making his points can also grow tedious ... A sincere but not particularly compelling effort.
Former evangelical Christian pastor Bell...persuasively preaches a gospel of embracing one’s story in this enjoyable mix of memoir and sermon ... his reflections on his time as a pastor are both grounded and imaginative, and make more sense than some of his meanderings into such areas as particle physics. Bell’s vigorous, quirky outing will appeal to progressive Christians.
Unfortunately, the author’s halting, fragmented style makes the text difficult to read, and his conclusions are hardly groundbreaking ... As a memoir, the narrative is scattershot and saturated with Bell’s feelings of loss, confusion, and anxiety. Throughout, the author is unsure about his next steps despite his massive successes in ministry, books...and public speaking. Dipping his toe into quantum physics, Bell sees in the Big Bang and the structure of molecules deep life lessons about belonging and growing. Yet even these ideas don’t convey smoothly, as the author unnecessarily camouflages them within a garden of chopped-up phrases. The voice of one crying in the wilderness. Bell could have done better.
