Lamorna Ash achieved success and acclaim for her memoir 'Dark, Salt, Clear: Life in a Cornish Fishing Town'. I haven't read it but her name is such that I picked up this book without knowing anything about it other than its subtitle: 'A New Generation's Search for Religion'. In both her books, Ash immerses herself in her subject, telling us both what she has researched and discovered as well as her personal response to it.

She was prompted to write this book when puzzled by two friends' unexpected conversions to Christianity. Her own experience of church was a basic knowledge of hymns through primary school, and attending the usual services of births, deaths and marriages. She wanted to understand why, in a time of general disconnection and apathy, people of her generation were finding relevance and purpose in religion. 

She travels all over Britain meeting people and attending church services, revealing 'the varied landscape of contemporary Christianity' in the country. She reports on Quaker meetings, a silent Jesuit retreat, a monastic community, Evangelical festivals and courses, and much more.

In addition to observing and reporting, she explains how she engages - learning how to pray and meditate, for example. And she says she hopes the book 'will prove to you that religion still matters enormously'...'The desire to question the boundaries of the universe, to seek some vertical axis by which to orient ourselves is a deeply human motivation.'

Having a liberal attitude to relationships herself, she is clear about declaring the areas in which she feels uncomfortable or disenchanted, but she is also very open and honest about how she is affected, moved and challenged.

'The Jesuit retreat showed me that faith need not take away from the life you are living, but might enlarge and make more meaningful the life you have already chosen.'

I'm not sure I fully understood her personal conclusions or resolution but her journey is fascinating and she is a captivating writer. There's much to ponder here and I found it enlightening and insightful.