Shadowlands Selections: March 2024

By the Society for Women of Letters Leadership Council

“Shadowlands Selections” is a monthly column for paid subscribers of Shadowlands Dispatch that features recommended reading, listening, and watching from the Leadership Council of the Society for Women of Letters (Melissa Cain Travis, Julie Miller, Annie Crawford, Rebekah Valerius, and Megan Rials). Every month, we share the cultural products (books, films, podcasts, etc.) currently captivating our imaginations. Our March 2024 recommendations cover everything from scientific Christian devotionals to the classics to historical fiction TV. Here, we feature Christian scientist Sy Garte’s new book Science and Faith in Harmony, the PBS Masterpiece series All Creatures Great and Small, Joy Clarkson’sAggressively Happy, and the classic Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius. Read on for our detailed explanations below. Enjoy!

Science and Faith in Harmony by Sy Garte

This book is the second book on science and faith from Dr. Sy Garte, a retired biochemist with the NIH with over 200 publications in genetics, molecular epidemiology, and cancer research to his name. His first book, The Works of His Hands: A Scientist’s Journey from Atheism to Faith, traces his journey to Christ as a scientist working in the field. This second book picks up on a theme he began there that the discipline of science can be seen as “distilled doxology” —namely, that science studies God’s handiwork so it is a form of worship and praise.