Gold Medal Winner, Independent Publishers Award 2022
Pillars: How Muslim Friends Led Me Closer to Jesus
Praise for Pillars
Starred Review in Publishers Weekly
“The author’s considered, evocative prose and friendly persona make this a pleasure to read. Pieh Jones’s courage to embrace her adventures, rethink shallow faith, and find genuine friendships will inspire readers looking to expand their own horizons.”
“This is a beautiful story, beautifully told. It’s much more than the memoirs of a Christian American living in Africa and exploring Islam with devoted Muslims; it’s about learning how to be a good neighbor to the people around you, wherever you might be in the world. This is the kind of book we need right now.” –Eboo Patel, author of Acts of Faith: The Story of an American Muslim, the Struggle for the Soul of a Generation
This is a book Christians and non-Christians alike can relate to: its core message is one of knowing how to admit you are wrong and learn from your mistakes, while strengthening friendships. —Booklist
“Filled with hard-won insights of a mature faith lived in long community with Muslim neighbors, Pillars refuses sentimental calls for the kind of peace that glosses over differences. Instead, Jones finds her faith unraveled and rewoven, stronger for what she’s learned in the Horn of Africa and from her Muslim friends. Anyone whose faith has been challenged by life experiences will find a helpful model for spiritual growth here.” –Amy Peterson, author of Dangerous Territory: My Misguided Quest to Save the World
“As an American raised in a Muslim country, I have waited for a book like Pillars all my adult life, a personal book that discovers similarities and honors differences between Christianity and Islam, a book that, pillar by pillar, builds bridges of greater understanding across what are often chasms of disconnect. Read and savor this book, which shows what can happen when we connect rather than collide.” –Marilyn R. Gardner, author of Between Worlds: Essays on Culture & Belonging
This was the best book I’ve read in a while. Jones is a skilled author. She paints a picture of what life is like in the Horn of Africa. You will feel like you have traveled (as much as you can) to the desert. You will be challenged to go back to your Bible and think about it with a different cultural perspective. Your heart will be warmed, broken, and challenged. Naomi Jones, educator
More News and Stories about Pillars (also see Podcasts Interviews)
Cover story in Read the Spirit: Inspired to Love Our Neighbors
What can a Christian learn from Muslims (with Barbara Brown Taylor and Abdi Nor Iftin)