Recollections and Reconsiderations

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Several years before his death, Augustine of Hippo reviewed his published works, commenting on his purpose in writing each, and correcting, from his present perspective, the mistakes he noticed. Inspired by Augustine's Retractationes, Miles's Recollections and Reconsiderations undertakes a similar project, a critical review of almost fifty years of her publications. Rereading and rethinking in chronological order effectively bonds life and thought into a corpus, a body of work with consistent values and interests. Such a review would be an illuminating project for any longtime scholar/student--both rewarding and humbling, an exercise in self-knowledge. Informed by a lifetime of studying Christian traditions, Miles concludes by describing both endemic problems with Christianity, and what she sees is its essence and beauty. "This is no mere intellectual memoir. St. Augustine writes, 'I feed you with what nourishes me.' Miles embodies precisely this, and we are all nourished by our reading of her generous book. Unflinchingly honest, Miles teaches us that scholarship is more a way of life than a career. She teaches us that scholarly skills help us form life skills, and that the solitude of the scholar is perfected in dialogue. Among scholars she is the last of a breed." --Martin Laird, OSA, Villanova University Margaret R. Miles is Emerita Professor of Historical Theology at the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, California. She is most recently the author of The Long Goodbye: Dementia Diaries (2017).