Episode 03

Michelle DeRusha

Writing Your Own Story

Michelle Derusha joins me to talk about memoir and the challenge of telling your own story. Michell is the author of Spiritual Misfit: A Memoir of Uneasy Faith.
Michelle Derusha joins me to talk about memoir and the challenge of telling your own story. Michell is the author of Spiritual Misfit: A Memoir of Uneasy Faith.
00:00 45:13

Show Notes:03. Michelle DeRusha—Writing Your Own Story: Using Writing As A Tool To Find God

Michelle Derusha joins me to talk about memoir and the challenge of telling your own story. We discuss how an author decides what to include and what gets cut, we talk about writing as a form of prayer, and we discuss the challenges of focusing your attention on the discipline of writing. You’ll appreciate Michelle’s honesty and vulnerability—hallmarks of a good memoir.

“Falsehood is so easy, truth so difficult.” —George Eliot

“If we’re honest with ourselves, I suspect a lot of us are looking for the big, flashy miracle— the billboard moment when everything is crystal clear and all doubts are washed away for good, the media-worthy miracle that makes the evening news. I know that’s what I want. I find myself thinking, If only God could give me one clear sign, if only he would come down and do a miracle, then I would believe 100 percent for sure. If I got a clear sign, I wouldn’t have any more doubts. But I’m not so sure that’s the only way God operates. I’m beginning to think he gives us these ordinary miracles, these small blessings, these “Why not?” moments in the midst of the everyday instead, so we will learn to open our eyes and see him not just in the wild, over-the-top, media-worthy miracles, but in the hundreds of everyday miracles as well.”

DeRusha, Michelle. Spiritual Misfit: A Memoir of Uneasy Faith

  • It’s officially fall when hay starts going in the barn.
  • And some more…
  • Some photos from Paris.
  • Another weekend another museum. The World War I museum in KC. And we snuck in a used book store.
  • Tomorrow is the official release date of A Sharp Compassion. Thanks to everyone who has pre-ordered it. The pre-ordered copies have been arriving over the last few days. I can’t wait for you to read it. Please share your thoughts and your copies when they arrive.
  • A Sharp Compassion releases in less than one week. 

“In our desperate search for comfort, the temptation to minimize, neutralize, or distort the cross looms large for Christians navigating the fragility of our own shortcomings. But the cross is offensive. As Chase Replogle reminds us, ‘the cross is the singular offense we must not lose, for it frees us from all other offenses.’ A Sharp Compassion is a timely diagnosis of our contemporary condition, offering a challenging but accessible, difficult but beautiful path forward, away from suffocating fragility, toward a spacious and free life.”

Jay Y. Kim, Pastor and Author
  • “Through a careful look at some of Jesus’s most challenging conversations, Chase helps us better understand the trap of offense and how Jesus can rescue us from it. Like a skilled surgeon, Chase uses Jesus’s words to dissect our lives, helping us recognize the insecurity and idolatry that often leads us to envy and offense. Jesus loves us enough to be honest with us. For those willing to listen, his hardest words also turn out to be some of his best. With Chase’s usual mix of history, psychology, and literature, A Sharp Compassion is a fascinating and sober read. For those willing to take the journey, you’ll learn and certainly be changed.”

Mark Batterson
Lead pastor of National Community Church; New York Times bestselling author of The Circle Maker
  • A Sharp Compassion is now available for pre-order on audible!
  • I spent the past week with a great writers group in Kentucky. Great good, hospitality, and conversations on writing. And I signed my first copy of A Sharp Compassion.
  • Just wanted to say thanks to those who have been pre-ordering the new book. Fun to see it ranked number three under Christian social issues.
It’s officially fall when hay starts going in the barn.
It’s officially fall when hay starts going in the barn.
3 weeks ago
View on Instagram |
1/10
And some more…
And some more…
And some more…
And some more…
And some more…
And some more…
3 weeks ago
View on Instagram |
2/10
Some photos from Paris.
Some photos from Paris.
Some photos from Paris.
Some photos from Paris.
Some photos from Paris.
Some photos from Paris.
Some photos from Paris.
3 weeks ago
View on Instagram |
3/10
Another weekend another museum. The World War I museum in KC. And we snuck in a used book store.
Another weekend another museum. The World War I museum in KC. And we snuck in a used book store.
Another weekend another museum. The World War I museum in KC. And we snuck in a used book store.
Another weekend another museum. The World War I museum in KC. And we snuck in a used book store.
Another weekend another museum. The World War I museum in KC. And we snuck in a used book store.
Another weekend another museum. The World War I museum in KC. And we snuck in a used book store.
Another weekend another museum. The World War I museum in KC. And we snuck in a used book store.
Another weekend another museum. The World War I museum in KC. And we snuck in a used book store.
2 months ago
View on Instagram |
4/10
Tomorrow is the official release date of A Sharp Compassion. Thanks to everyone who has pre-ordered it. The pre-ordered copies have been arriving over the last few days. I can’t wait for you to read it. Please share your thoughts and your copies when they arrive.
Tomorrow is the official release date of A Sharp Compassion. Thanks to everyone who has pre-ordered it. The pre-ordered copies have been arriving over the last few days. I can’t wait for you to read it. Please share your thoughts and your copies when they arrive.
2 months ago
View on Instagram |
5/10
A Sharp Compassion releases in less than one week. 

“In our desperate search for comfort, the temptation to minimize, neutralize, or distort the cross looms large for Christians navigating the fragility of our own shortcomings. But the cross is offensive. As Chase Replogle reminds us, ‘the cross is the singular offense we must not lose, for it frees us from all other offenses.’ A Sharp Compassion is a timely diagnosis of our contemporary condition, offering a challenging but accessible, difficult but beautiful path forward, away from suffocating fragility, toward a spacious and free life.”

Jay Y. Kim, Pastor and Author
A Sharp Compassion releases in less than one week. “In our desperate search for comfort, the temptation to minimize, neutralize, or distort the cross looms large for Christians navigating the fragility of our own shortcomings. But the cross is offensive. As Chase Replogle reminds us, ‘the cross is the singular offense we must not lose, for it frees us from all other offenses.’ A Sharp Compassion is a timely diagnosis of our contemporary condition, offering a challenging but accessible, difficult but beautiful path forward, away from suffocating fragility, toward a spacious and free life.” Jay Y. Kim, Pastor and Author
2 months ago
View on Instagram |
6/10
“Through a careful look at some of Jesus’s most challenging conversations, Chase helps us better understand the trap of offense and how Jesus can rescue us from it. Like a skilled surgeon, Chase uses Jesus’s words to dissect our lives, helping us recognize the insecurity and idolatry that often leads us to envy and offense. Jesus loves us enough to be honest with us. For those willing to listen, his hardest words also turn out to be some of his best. With Chase’s usual mix of history, psychology, and literature, A Sharp Compassion is a fascinating and sober read. For those willing to take the journey, you’ll learn and certainly be changed.”

Mark Batterson
Lead pastor of National Community Church; New York Times bestselling author of The Circle Maker
“Through a careful look at some of Jesus’s most challenging conversations, Chase helps us better understand the trap of offense and how Jesus can rescue us from it. Like a skilled surgeon, Chase uses Jesus’s words to dissect our lives, helping us recognize the insecurity and idolatry that often leads us to envy and offense. Jesus loves us enough to be honest with us. For those willing to listen, his hardest words also turn out to be some of his best. With Chase’s usual mix of history, psychology, and literature, A Sharp Compassion is a fascinating and sober read. For those willing to take the journey, you’ll learn and certainly be changed.” Mark Batterson Lead pastor of National Community Church; New York Times bestselling author of The Circle Maker
2 months ago
View on Instagram |
7/10
A Sharp Compassion is now available for pre-order on audible!
A Sharp Compassion is now available for pre-order on audible!
2 months ago
View on Instagram |
8/10
I spent the past week with a great writers group in Kentucky. Great good, hospitality, and conversations on writing. And I signed my first copy of A Sharp Compassion.
I spent the past week with a great writers group in Kentucky. Great good, hospitality, and conversations on writing. And I signed my first copy of A Sharp Compassion.
I spent the past week with a great writers group in Kentucky. Great good, hospitality, and conversations on writing. And I signed my first copy of A Sharp Compassion.
I spent the past week with a great writers group in Kentucky. Great good, hospitality, and conversations on writing. And I signed my first copy of A Sharp Compassion.
I spent the past week with a great writers group in Kentucky. Great good, hospitality, and conversations on writing. And I signed my first copy of A Sharp Compassion.
3 months ago
View on Instagram |
9/10
Just wanted to say thanks to those who have been pre-ordering the new book. Fun to see it ranked number three under Christian social issues.
Just wanted to say thanks to those who have been pre-ordering the new book. Fun to see it ranked number three under Christian social issues.
3 months ago
View on Instagram |
10/10

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