Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC. Sometimes when reading poetry I feel quite dumb. Like I’m missing something. Maybe it was the subject matter or maybe it just really hit home, but very much enjoyed it.

A wonderful collection of poetry concerning religion.

All of Wilde's works feel like someone has dipped into the deepest parts of your soul and put them on paper. With his poetry focusing on love (romantic, love of a vampire, and now the love one holds for God) he keeps impressing me.
This collection is beautiful and such a good read I'd absolutely recommend along with every and any of this authors other works! I can't wait to see what he puts out next!

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. I wasn't sure I would read or review it. It is not a genre I usually read. Poetry, even free form poetry, doesn't usually speak to me. I get caught up in the structure of it and pay no attention to the words or meaning. This book was not like that. This book felt like me talking as I continually search for God. Many times I said "me too" as I read a verse. It didn't come across the least bit preachy or really religious. It was more of a free form religion, about the personal relationship of a man with God as religion should be. It was about an ongoing search for God in the light and dark and realizing that God is different things to different people. This book left me feeling less alone in my search for God, knowing there is no right or wrong way, and giving me insight on prayer. It felt very personal. Thank you Mr. Wilde.

Another fan-fucking-tastic collection from Eli Wilde. It's always a joy to see their releases pop up.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced reader copy.

This book was very moving and well-written as we see the author's journey towards God and spirituality. The free prose was easy to read as we slowly plunge into the emotions of the writer and his relationship with religion. It deals with healing and being thankful to God in hard moments. You can only become stronger once you have faced all the hardships. I had a really great time.

As someone who had a crisis about beliefs myself, I found that book very interesting. It isn't bad to not always be sure about your faith, the way you go while you find a new way or back to your old way.
The world isn't always sunshine and rainbows and same goes for faith.

“So, to answer your question, friend / the reason I’m looking for God is simple / I search to find the meaning in everything I write” (35, Wilde)
Searching For God journeys the questions of a man in response to God, both in its dark and light, from its highs to lows. If God exists, why do horrible things take place? Why is one child bedridden, while another runs free? If we are made in His image, why do we lie, our souls tainted unclean?
Eli Wilde chronicles this never linear life of reaching forth, like Adam in the Creation of Adam, but always just stopping- hand always never extending fully. And, when your hand does try to clasp Gods, the emotion of not feeling Him, feeling Him, wanting to feel anything. The poems are open ended questions, scattered in the way the questioning of a religious spirit will be for anyone connecting to their religion. And, in this, the poems are beautiful in their humanity. They’re unceaseless, honest in and of feelings many would rather hide than admit in the questioning of God. Connection to anything bigger than yourself is not simple, it is not easy, Eli Wilde draws this in his poems full of raw thoughts and questions, questions, questions.
It’s a pleasure to read for anyone searching for God, to see you are not alone in your untethered uncertainty. That you are not alone, by God or your own questioning.

This book isn't normally what I reach for but It presented a very interesting concept in terms of someone's journey searching for God. What really impacted me was the authenticity of the words written. Normally religious books tend to be a bit cringy in my opinion and as a Christian myself, I truly valued the authenticity and sincerity displayed in this book. I feel like this book truly shows the different emotions and feelings one goes through while taking on this journey of searching for God.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC!

This book was share with me by my husband and as I read it I began to wonder why he had chosen this book, as it is not his normal genre but mine. It could be labelled as a work of Philosophy or reasoning or the ranting of someone looking for a relationship with God. Word’s like faith and belief; suffering and evil are explored within the environment of the enquiry which reinforced to me just how often we use these words without truly comprehending the power behind their meaning.
As someone who hears this kind of questioning from people all the time, I found it almost refreshing to read it in print and as I read, I waited with bated breath to arrive at the end and discover whether or not the writer found God in the end. Or did God find the questioner?
In saying all of that, as a philosopher, I would have liked to have read more depth about the questioners thinking, as a Christian I followed the line of questioning and realised that some time ago I had asked the same questions.
Thank you to Eli Wilde, BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for the ARC. All the views expressed are mine and are freely given.

An interesting form in which to consider this topic. I do not know the author’s intent, but from my perspective the settings and content came across as a Christian based search for God, rather than a multi-faith perspective. Here are presented many of the questions people, with and without faith, often pose about God and faith. As I read through the poems the deliberations presented in the poetry showed me a blossoming understanding, to the questions posed in the poem’s titles, both with faith and the spiritual impact of environment. Thank you to BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

This book is a beautiful story of grief written in lines of poetry
It is a journey of healing and acceptance
I really enjoyed the questioning and the wandering turns that this author takes the reader through
There is a stark feeling of observation and also of smallness as you read these poems
I recommend this to anyone who is also searching for meaning in a seemingly unanswerable situation

Great Read

I received a copy from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

This was an enjoyable read. This book is a collection of free verse poetry about a person’s journey to God. I thought it was really interesting to see how the author, Eli Wilde, conveyed the emotions and struggles people go through their journey of discovery and searching for God. It is always during those times, when faith is needed to help guide us to Him and the live in the wonders of God’s grace and love. I thought it was very moving. Also, the cover is amazing. To me, I think it shows the struggles that we face in the quest of searching for God. It may be hard, but it is also rewarding when we finally become one with God. Overall, a great read.

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What drew me in to this poetry book is that I also became religious as adult, although I became a religious Jew and not Christian. I enjoyed the first few poems focused on the creation of the Earth and the desire to believe in a higher power, as I had a similar mindset as I became religious. I also loved the cover and the allusion to St Sebastian.
What turned me off from this book, however, was when there were suddenly several Holocaust mentions in poems? Reading it, I did not feel the author was equipped to handle such a topic, such as in the poem "A letter to G-d," where it gives off the vibe "if Jews are your chosen people why did you let so many die." This is not a question to ask in a 25 line poem, especially as a throw away line. It immediately soured the entire collection for me and further poems continued to lean into this Christian supersession line. These inclusions were very jarring and did not seem to match the book or feel necessary.
For these reasons, I would not feel comfortable recommending it to my friends or followers, as I want them to be able to trust me to not provide content that is antisemitic, whether it is intentional or not.
2 stars