Eve: A Novel (30 page)

Eve
has been the single most arduous creative work that I have ever engaged, a forty-year process of questions, study, and living life. One does not accomplish such a task alone. I am surrounded by a host of family and friends, in-laws and outlaws, a myriad of scholars and thinkers, dreamers, schemers, and artists; each who have contributed in unique and significant ways to this work.

At the center of it all is Kim, who gives me the gift of staying grounded; she believes in me but is not easily impressed. Our children, their spouses, our grandchildren, and the joy that each one brings, makes the work worth the sweat, tears, and prayer. As the ripples move outward, we are surrounded by the incredible friendships of those who continue to cover us with affection and prayers. To name them all would take another book, but these include: Closner, Weston, Foster, the Ninjas and the Posse, Scanlon, Linda Yoder, Graves, Troy Brumell, Miller, the other Miller, Garratt, the Toronto and Vancouver Minions, Huff, TCK family, Larson, Wards, Sand, Jordan, the NE Portland family, Gillis, my Canadian family (Young and Bruneski), including Mom and Dad, Debbie, Tim and their families, the Warren Clan, especially “The Force,” Goff, Marin, Gifford, Henderson, and MacMurray.

Special thanks to C. Baxter Kruger, who talked me off the ledge a couple times when the creative process took me there and has been a consistent and encouraging sounding board as I struggled to weave essential elements of coherent scholarship inside an accessible story. Also to Howard Books and Simon & Schuster, a publisher that has consistently been encouraging, with a special hug to Jonathan Merkh and Carolyn Reidy, who have unequivocally supported this project from the outset.

I have always said that a good editor is worth their weight in gold, so thank you Ami McConnell, Becky Nesbitt, Amanda Rooker, and especially Erin Healy (Erin you were a godsend, truly).

Thank you to the myriad of voices being raised worldwide that will make this century the Century of the Woman, like Jimmy Carter, Stephen Lewis, and Emma Watson (your UN speech was profound); for organizations such as Opportunity International, Stop Demand; and a host of religious, political, business, and philanthropic organizations that are chipping away at the massive inequities in our world, especially those centered on women’s rights and issues.

I drew from many scholars, ranging in expertise from linguistics and antiquities to philosophy, psychology, theology, and science. Again, it would take another book to list them all, but I will highlight only a few. Thank you, Jacques Ellul, who now sits in the great cloud of witnesses, along with Katherine Bushnell. William Law, Karl Barth, and George MacDonald. Thank you too, to Fuz Rana, Hugh Ross, and the folks at Reasons to Believe, who
helped me craft the days of creation in a way respectful to both the text and to science.

Another list, too long, would be the music that is the backdrop and sound track of my work, the constant companionship of bards and tune and lyric. My thanks to them is represented in my thanks to Bruce Cockburn, a poet of life’s journey. If I could have gotten the requisite permissions in time, I would have printed the lyrics of his “Creation Dream” and “Broken Wheel” at the back of this novel.

Thank you, Biliske Meiers (Spokane area) and Jay and Jeni Weston (Mt. Hood area) for space and time to concentrate and work. Such gifts are a great kindness.

Framing this project were two men and their families, without whom this project would have never gotten off the ground. Thank you, Dan Polk and Wes Yoder, who oversaw and hammered out each detail, men of integrity and compassion. No one represents my heart better than you two.

Thank you, readers and listeners. I hope this story finds a space inside your world that puts an arm around you and whispers that you have always been worthy of being loved and always will be. Thank you to all our international publishers and readers, we are in this together! I pray this story will bring a little more freedom to us all—women and men.

Finally, at the true center, is the self-giving other-centered love of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, displayed so perfectly and extravagantly to us in the person of Jesus. We are learning how to re-turn and trust you, and slowly learning to trust one another as well. Thank you!

A Howard Books Reading Group Guide

Eve

Wm. Paul Young

Topics and Question for Discussion

1. In
Eve
, we become witnesses with Lilly to a retelling of the Creation story that challenges centuries-old theological interpretations and cultural assumptions. What presuppositions and interpretations did you bring to this story? How did this affect your reading of the novel?

2.
Eve
sets up the woman as the hero of the story, saving Adam from himself and a life of loneliness and damnation. Discuss how this shift affects your view on gender issues? Does this story bring relief or confusion to your understanding of your self and your gender?

3. In the traditional interpretation of the story of creation, women are seen weak-willed and not trustworthy. The rational is that since Eve was deceived, and by this deception sin entered the world, women are susceptible to all kinds of malfeasance. Women—how have you experienced this? Men—how have you fallen into this or resisted this way of thinking?

4. As Lilly journeys through physical healing at the Refuge and witnessing creation with Mother Eve, her own story and pain comes to light and spiritual and emotional healing begins. What elements of Lilly’s story or the story of a loving, face-to-face God triggered a response in your heart and mind? Where do you need to find healing?

5. John tells Lilly, “Lilly, words like
God
and
believe
are often meaningless. I don’t
believe
in God. I
know
God! Once you know someone, believing is no longer a concern.” What do you think the difference between believing and knowing is? What do you believe about God, yourself, this world? What do you know about them?

6. God exists in three persons who experience each other face-to-face, that is, they are in constant relationship with each other. We were created to experience the same triune relationship with God and with each other. Yet so often we turn from the face of God or the face of others. In the novel, John states that when we do, we cast a shadow that we live in, as long as we remain turned away from the other. What is it like when you are living face-to-face with God and other? What happens in your life when you turn away?

7. In the novel, John explains relationship to Lilly: ‘ “When you and I are like this, completely face-to-face, what is one thing that would never occur to you?” Again, it took a moment before Lilly understood. “It would not occur to me that I was alone.” ‘If this is true, why do we so find ourselves alone? What about us as a people and a culture make it so easy to feel alone? How can you overcome this isolation? How can you help others do the same?

8. Creation did not last long in its perfect state. Man and woman turned from God and pain and suffering entered the world. Our struggle to repair relationship with God and each other is essential work in restoring creation. It is part of healing the damage. Do you see the need for restoration and healing in your life? If so, where?

9. After Adam and Eve turned from God, they each looked to something other than God to find their significance. Adam tried to fill that void with work, Eve with Adam. This curse has followed us to this day. How does this affect you? Where do you search for meaning apart from God? Where do you struggle with significance?

10. Lilly finds herself in danger throughout this story—left for dead by the traffickers, bitten by the serpent, poisoned by the mirror—yet it is the loss of hope that is the greatest peril. “What if what Lilly saw in the mirror took away her hope?” . . . “Without hope, even an otherwise healthy person can die.” When have you lost hope in your life? What caused you to do so? How did or can you overcome it?

11. ‘ “Do you accept this invitation?” asked Eve. “To daily trust and wait?” ‘ Our invitation, like Lilly’s, is to simply trust and wait. Two seemingly easy yet very difficult things to do. Do you find it easy or difficult to trust? How does that affect your relationships? Are you a patient person or do you have trouble waiting?

12. We are worth loving. The biggest lie we believe is that we are not. It leads us to try to work to gain love, to please others the win their affection, and to never trust the love we do receive. Do you believe that you are worth loving? Do believe that others are as well? How would you live differently if you acted every day on those two beliefs?

Enhance Your Book Club

1. Creation stories have a powerful impact on the cultures that embrace them. For example, in many Native American stories, the gods take the shape of animals and natural phenomena, leading to a high regard of nature in those cultures. How has the traditional interpretation of the Biblical story of Adam and Eve and the fall permeated both the church and the broader culture of the western world? How have power structures been built based on these views?

2. Discuss how attitudes and roles toward gender have changed in your lifetime. What positive changes have you seen? Where is change still needed? How can you be a part of that change?

3. Have your book club read Wm. Paul Young’s first book,
The Shack
. How do the themes and plot devices in
The Shack
compare with
Eve
? How do you connect with the main characters in each book? Discuss how the author changes our perceptions about the trinity and the creation story in
The Shack
and
Eve
, respectively.

4. Find out more information and join the conversation at
WmPaulYoung.com
.

About the Author

WM. Paul Young was born in Canada and raised among a Stone Age tribe by his missionary parents in the highlands of former New Guinea. He suffered great loss as a child and young adult and now enjoys the “wastefulness of grace” with his family in the Pacific Northwest. He is the author of two #1
New York Times
bestsellers,
The Shack
and
Crossroads
.

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Is it possible to craft a space for community and conversation free of the divisiveness of politics or religion or ideology . . . a space to explore life, God, the world, and what it is to be fully human, alongside a growing group of friends?

I would love to try. If that sounds like something you’re interested in, join the ever unfolding conversation about God, life, and the world at:

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USA

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www.bspequity.com
.

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[email protected]
.

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LSO BY
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Cross Roads

The Shack

Howard Books

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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.