Coming Soon
View from an Adirondack
Written during a three-week hospital stay in the spring of 2020, this book is a deeply personal meditation on faith, loss, and renewal set against one of the most disorienting moments in modern history. Drawing on the spiritual journey from Purim to Passover to Easter, the author weaves theology, lived experience, and cultural reflection into a narrative shaped by grief, survival, and resilience.
Moving fluidly between personal memory and collective upheaval, the book invites readers into a shared journey of reflection—one that confronts suffering honestly while pointing toward forgiveness, renewal, and new life.
Advance Praise for View from an Adirondack
“This is a book about paths and journeys, unsparing in its honesty but also filled with compassion. It’s about the author’s “meandering” path to the Ministry, “predestined” now, in retrospect; and into a life of Service, at home and on an international scale.
It’s about his own journey through the Valley of the Shadow of grief and loss; about Faith and the testing of Faith. View From an Adirondack Chair might sound leisurely and comfortable, but this book confronts the some of the hardest questions human beings face: questions about God and His (or Her) whereabouts in times of pain and doubt; about the nature of forgiveness—and of sin; about the will to dominate Nature and where that inclination comes from, and about the real and ever-present possibility of finding joy in the midst of suffering.
Finally, this is a book about the search for meaning; of words like Prayer, Hope, Remembrance, Gratitude, Resilience and Renewal, Resurrection, and discovering God’s grace in unlikely places. In the end, this is a book about human connections; in the end it’s a book about Love.”
—David Bearinger
Co-author, Dreams and Shadows: An Immigrant’s Journey; editor, The Bill of Rights, The Courts, and The Law
“Written from the stillness of an ICU bed during a world in crisis, this memoir is a searching meditation on love, loss, and the long work of becoming whole, and living as a flawed human being. Moving fluidly between personal grief, spiritual questioning, and a life devoted to religion, justice, and service, the author invites readers into an unflinching yet tender reckoning with suffering and grace.
Anchored by the devastating loss of a beloved daughter and the courage required to keep living, these reflections ask what it means to forgive, to belong, and to remain open to love after heartbreak. This is not a story of easy answers, but of resilience born through vulnerability—and a faith reshaped by compassion, doubt, and hope.”
—Tracy Robertson
“Beautifully written and deeply moving, it is more than a memoir is a roadmap from grief to gratitude. Barton weaves personal tragedy and global upheaval into a powerful testament to the human spirit. As a former colleague in international humanitarian aid, I know his words are rooted in a lifetime of genuine leadership. This is a masterful guide for anyone seeking hope in uncertain times.”
—Joyce Turner, Former NGO Colleague
About
REV. Dr. Jonathan M. Barton
Jonathan Barton is an ordained minister, theologian, and longtime church leader with decades of experience in faith-based service, public policy, and global humanitarian work.
He has served in senior leadership roles with Church World Service and the Virginia Council of Churches, traveled internationally on behalf of the Church, and testified before Congress on issues of justice, hunger, and peace. His life and work reflect a deep commitment to service, advocacy, and spiritual leadership.