Nearly thirty years ago, I met a girl from Portland. We served for three weeks at a camp in British Columbia, volunteering with a ministry we were both involved with at the time.
A year older than me, she was terribly smart to boot, a human I wouldn’t soon forget. After all, ours was a summer and a memory and an experience that knit us together, even though we lost touch for a couple of decades there.
Fast-forward to the pandemic when this “girl from Portland” and I reunited over a Zoom call. We shared in common a love of writing and a fiery passion for justice, in the church, in our home state of Oregon, and for White folks like ourselves who hadn’t always understood their innate privilege.
So, when this friend, Sarah Sanderson, announced a book deal for The Place We Make, I was just thrilled. Here’s my endorsement:
With grace and transparency, Sarah Sanderson extends to readers an invitation into sorrow and empathy to feel another person’s story and further reimagine our own stories too. The Place We Make is not only an important read for White folks, Pacific Northwesterners, Christians, and the spiritually curious, but for anyone who needs to flip history’s hidden records upside down.
Enjoy this interview with Sarah today!
Cara Meredith: How are you coloring outside of the lines, all over again, when it comes to your writing and this book in particular?
Sarah Sanderson: This is a funny question because I’ve recently gotten into Johanna Basford’s adult coloring books, and when it comes to markers, nothing pleases me more than coloring inside the lines! ☺️ But metaphorically speaking, this book is all about pushing outside the lines of what we talk about and what we don't talk about. I don't know very many other people who want to get specific about their own implicit biases (which is just a nicer way of saying "racism")... but that's exactly what I'm pushing myself to do in this book. I'm hoping that as I'm willing to be vulnerable about myself, my readers will find a safe space to examine and lament over what might be lurking inside their own hearts.
Cara Meredith: You wrote a book! Tell us! What upside-down idea were you trying to turn right side up again?
Sarah Sanderson: Several main ideas run through The Place We Make. One is the idea that history is important... that what happened in the past still impacts what is happening today, and we can't fix it until we understand it. Another main idea is that racism is a spiritual issue, and it can't be fully addressed without God. But I'd say the biggest upside-down idea I'm working on overturning is the way we don't understand how grace should apply to our major social problems, including racism. We tend to think either that there's no place for grace, and people with objectionable beliefs or behaviors just need to be canceled, or that grace means everything is fine and no one needs to be held accountable. What I want to communicate is that grace makes space to do the work of change. Starting with myself.
Cara Meredith: Okay. We talk so much about audience when it comes to book-writing, but what did you learn about yourself along the way?
Sarah Sanderson: So much! The book is really the chronicle of my journey from knowing absolutely nothing about racism to... well, hopefully something a little bit more than nothing! I talk about five movements in the book, each of which began in my own heart: turning from ignorance to empathy, turning from clenched fists to open hands, turning from supremacy to shalom, turning from silence to self-disclosure, and turning from exclusion to community. Each one of those movements was something I learned first in my own life, before I could figure out how to share it with others.
Cara Meredith: Putting ourselves out there when it comes to storytelling is always a risk. What is the biggest, fleshiest risk you took with this book?
Sarah Sanderson: I have been absolutely terrified about writing and publishing this book! I am so not an expert in this arena... and it's such a heated topic! I've been terrified of saying the wrong thing, or making people mad, or... well, I can imagine a million things going wrong. It feels like the whole book is a huge risk! I've been so grateful for the people I trust who've stepped in and read it and said, yes, you're on the right track.
Cara Meredith: Publishing a book is a shiny milestone! What else are you celebrating in your ordinary, everyday life?
Sarah Sanderson: Book launch day is just a week after my oldest child heads off to college! I'm excited for her and curious to find out what parenting looks like when it's done across state lines... but we're going to miss her! We still have three boys at home, so we have some time before the empty nest really hits. But this year without our daughter at home is going to be a big adjustment. We're super proud of her!
"But I'd say the biggest upside-down idea I'm working on overturning is the way we don't understand how grace should apply to our major social problems, including racism. We tend to think either that there's no place for grace, and people with objectionable beliefs or behaviors just need to be canceled, or that grace means everything is fine and no one needs to be held accountable. What I want to communicate is that grace makes space to do the work of change. Starting with myself."....
This. This recognition of both/and -- makes me appreciative of a book I haven't read yet. Thanks for this introduction.