We were sitting at a round table of ten. The bread basket had flat crispy crackers, curly sesame bread sticks, and crusty bread with a soft inside. The guest of honor was journalist and research fellow, . Our dinner party followed Eliza’s talk and book signing at the program; . Eliza was obviously exhausted from her book tour, but she was a great sport and continued to answer our questions all though the three-course meal.
The conversation was interesting and stimulating. It was exactly what you’d expect, when you bring a mix of smart people together to talk about religion, politics, and nation building. My mind wandered off topic to think about Eliza herself. She shared quite a bit about her personal background as a preacher’s kid— the daughter of a , spiritual seeker, and poet.
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