If ever there was a time in history for developing “Giving The Sacred Art,” it is right now. There are so many people suffering and many in our own neighborhoods right here in the United States. Giving The Sacred Art by Lauren Tyler Wright makes a very strong case for becoming more generous and less self-centered. While it may be hard to make individual philanthropy, a sacrificial virtue mandated by the major world religions, sound enticing, inspirational and even occasionally pleasurable—Giving The Sacred Art often succeeds in doing just that. Generosity can give you joy, asserts Wright, a researcher on faith and family at Indiana University. In this refreshingly candid volume on the transformative power of sharing one's material, emotional and spiritual wealth, the author ponders the theological, psychological and social significance of giving. It is many things, she says: worship, stewardship, discipline and an act of redemption, charity and justice. Less a scholarly tome than a practical treatise, Giving The Sacred Art offers multiple resources, including worksheets, exercises, quotations from some of the world's faith traditions and a bibliography. –

• Giving the Sacred Art by Lauren Tyler Wright is an inspirational read.
• Lauen Tyler Wright presents powerful and appealing encouragement for generosity.