REIMAGINING JONAH: A FLIGHT TO FREEDOM is available now!
"What would cause a proclaimed prophet to run away from everything he called home and dodge the unyielding God of his tribe?"
Devoted to an uncompromising commitment to selfhood, Dr. Doug Wheeler challenges the traditional assumption that Jonah was a miserable coward by examining him as a deeply conflicted, courageous, and soulful man. With a poetic flair, Reimagining Jonah provokes and confounds with language flavored by trauma and empathy, producing a richly contemplative and profoundly human version of this well-known tale.
Praise for Reimagining Jonah: A Flight to Freedom
“Doug Wheeler brings to his writing his long wise years as a psychotherapist, knowing that every story we tell – including Jonah’s – is thick with subterranean transactions and freighted with background.”
- Walter Brueggemann, Professor Emeritus of Old Testament, Columbia Theological Seminary
“Wheeler speaks to Jonah as a fellow sufferer and fellow journeyer, re-envisioning him through a humanistic lens.”
- Susan B. Miller, author of Shame in Context and A Beautiful Land
“Reimagining Jonah invites us to wrestle with the difficulties of becoming and accepting our most authentic selves.”
- Jonathan Miller, Ritual Elder & Spiritual Director
"To take on this epic fish tale and offer a historically controversial reinterpretation takes courage, as does imbuing the narrative with personal pain and triumph."
- Susen Musazade, LMFT, Professional Therapist
“Reimagining Jonah is a revelation, finally giving Jonah the backstory he deserves. Read this book, listen to the included playlist, absorb Wheeler’s wisdom, and find hope and illumination.”
- John Capps, PhD, Professor Of Philosophy at Rochester Institute of Technology
“Providing a new melody to this ageless refrain, Wheeler quests with the Prophet Jonah through his discovery of selfhood, excavating empathy from the sacred text in unexpected ways. Think of this text, not as a traditional commentary on the Book of Jonah, but more of a lyrical composition awakening a cosmos alive with particles of light that sparkle and sing alongside the dark matter of ordinary life.”
- Lynn Gibson, PhD, Author & Bereavement Researcher