“In this extraordinary memoir of grace, one of the foremost human rights advocates of the last half century shares her brutally and hilariously honest story of finding God on one of the most unlikely, irreverent, and utterly beautiful pilgrimages through life as it actually is.” —Gary A. Haugen, president and CEO, International Justice Mission “It used to be that my own religious philosophy was to work hard, charm everyone within spittin’ distance, and do a lot of crafts. So how did this hard-core leftist skeptic find peace and happiness among Bible-quoting, praying-out-loud, born-again evangelicals? I realized that my two choices—the existence of a loving God or the reality of evil—weren’t the only options. Option three is that God is good and the world is lousy. But wait. There’s more. God knows the world is lousy. Knows it, hates it, and wants us to do something about it...” —Holly Burkhalter, Good God, Lousy World & Me   For over thirty years, Holly Burkhalter has worked as an international rights advocate for victims of genocide, rape, and injustice.   Throughout most of her career, the heartbreak she encountered around the world—and in her own life—had convinced her that there was no such thing as a loving God. How could there be? If God   was there, he should be charged as a war criminal for tolerating atrocities against the young, the poor, and the vulnerable.    Then, Holly discovered a new truth: God was there—in the grief, in the violence, in the questions. And God was good.   It was the greatest, hardest, most radiant surprise of her life.   This is her story. Human rights activist Burkhalter begins her journey of faith in 1990 in West Africa as thousands of Liberians were displaced from their homeland by rebel forces. Weary and heartbroken from the ongoing violence, she wasn’t a Christian then—although her grandparents were Mennonite missionaries—or quite an atheist. Instead she was a “twisted, pissed-off, betrayed former Christian.” She discusses the numerous reasons to believe in God and, paradoxically, to not believe. She rails against an indifferent God even as she offers anecdotes about the believers she meets. She discusses, too, unconditional love (her very personal story about her beloved German shepherd will break every dog lover’s heart). Gradually, things change: she and her husband adopt two children from Asia. Her friendship with Gary Haugen, the founder of International Justice Mission (IJM), a Christian organization that speaks out against violence and injustice, sealed the deal. “IJM taught me,” she writes, “that the atrocities that broke my heart broke God’s more.” A moving memoir on the joys and agony of faith. --June Sawyers Praise for Good God, Lousy World, and Me “Holly Burkhalter has been a voice of conscience in Washington for many, many years. She has written some of the most powerful and pointed op-eds the Post has published. She’s a gifted writer with a big heart and a unique, compassionate take on the human condition.” —Fred Hiatt of The Washington Post “Holly’s story, from a distance, is absolutely fascinating—one of the world’s top experts in human rights turns out to be a person of deep Christian commitments. But her story up close is even better: by turns laugh-out-loud funny, poignant, wrenching, and hopeful. I think this is a voice the wider world needs to hear.” —Andy Crouch, author of Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling and executive editor of Christianity Today “ Good God, Lousy World, and Me is what happens when a passion for justice is joined to a seeking spirit. Holly Burkhalter’s work for a world that cherishes all people is undergirded by her faith in a God who does likewise. This is Christianity as we wish it could be.” —Phillip Gulley, author of Living the Quaker Way “ Good God, Lousy World, and Me is a desperately needed, encouraging read, helping us see that we don’t need everything figured out before we act on behalf of the poor, marginalized, and oppressed. Instead Holly takes us on a journey where true strength shows up through our humanity, where our daily burdens and spiritual questioning make faith the miracle it truly is. With a blunt, challenging, funny, and intimate recount of personal experiences, Holly punches some of the taboos left in today’s society. For those of us who’ve questioned God after witnessing, hearing, or experiencing injustice or those who’ve quietly suffered with mental illness, Holly’s words rally the soul and challenge the myth that one must accept neat answers to life’s darkest moments before professing faith and declaring war on injustice.” —Steve Martin, CEO of Love146 “Anything written by Holly Burkhalter is worth reading, and her book is no exception.” —Jody Williams, winner of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize “Holly’s story is a journey from unbelief to the unbelievably critical work of justice for the poor and marginalized in the name of God. It’s a powerful story