Praise for Called

“Ryan perfectly captures the roller coaster of mixed emotions you really experience when you dare to answer one of God’s big questions for your life, ‘What if?’ There’s an adventure hidden in this book and one inside you too. Read Ryan’s words to find both.”

—Jon Acuff, New York Times bestselling author of Start: Punch Fear in the Face, Escape Average & Do Work that Matters

“With a poignant and unflinching voice, Ryan Pemberton brings a fresh perspective to the winding and often complex journey of faith. His writing brings to mind the work of Donald Miller, mixed with the vulnerability of my favorite stories from NPR’s “This American Life.” Pemberton is a thinking Christian who does not shy away from thought provoking questions about faith. He is a writer to watch and I eagerly await his next work. Quietly powerful and inspiring, Called: My Journey To C. S. Lewis’s House and Back Again is a memoir that is not to be missed.”

—Michael Morris, author of Man in the Blue Moon, Slow Way Home, and A Place Called Wiregrass

“In this finely written memoir, Ryan Pemberton takes us into the halls and streets and stories of magical, historic Oxford, and into the life and home of its renowned thinker-poet C. S. Lewis. As we follow Ryan on his quest to find what it means to be called, with all the excitement and doubt and second-guessing that entails, we are the ones who make the discovery that in the end, calling isn’t so much about a grand task or an exciting journey, but about listening, trust, and deep surrender.”

—Sheridan Voysey, writer, speaker, broadcaster, and author of Resurrection Year: Turning Broken Dreams into New Beginnings. www.sheridanvoysey.com

“Like David the young Psalmist, Ryan knows how to write and has something to say. Intelligent, personal, and refreshingly honest, Ryan’s warm heart, active mind, and hungry soul shine through on every page, illuminating what is often a dimly lit path towards knowing and doing God’s will. A worthy read.”

—Dick Staub, author, broadcaster, founder The Kindlings Muse, and a Country Parson on Orcas Island

“I cannot think of a memoir I have related to more than Ryan Pemberton’s Called. It’s a book I could not put down, not only because I have deep fondness for Lewis and Oxford but also because I sympathize with the unpredictable rhythms of life and calling that Ryan so eloquently captures. Calling unfurls itself more often as a twisty roller coaster than a smooth, open road. With honesty, passion and Narnia-like wonder, Ryan shows us in Called how beautifully thrilling the ride can be.”

—Brett McCracken, author of Gray Matters (Baker Books, 2013) and Hipster Christianity (Baker Books, 2010)

“Oxford. C. S. Lewis. Living at the Kilns. An aspiring writer. A young marriage. A life of faith. These are the ingredients of what proved to be a most enjoyable memoir. Ryan Pemberton takes you right into Oxford’s stately halls, he opens up doors to occasional C. S. Lewis tidbits ...