When the great writer Reynolds Price died a few days ago, most obituaries omitted mention of his deep faith. Yet much of his writing in later life focused on his Christian belief and practice. For me, his most affecting treatment of that topic is in Letter to a Godchildin which Price writes to a young godchild on the occasion of his baptism. (If I recall the book correctly, he states in the intro that it is an actual letter, not a made-up conceit.) It's a wise and honest work that pulls no punches about the challenges of faith, but also makes no excuses for celebrating it. Here is Price on NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross, in 2006, speaking about the book. Listen to the interview and then by all means buy the book--for a godchild or for yourself.
Reynolds Price and Faith
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''A Long and Happy Life'' - about a hundred and eleven years ago, now. (''Surface of the Earth'' is still my favorite.) When I think of Price, I always think of the opening of Alan Judd's biography of Ford Maddox Ford: ''There are also the rich in spirit. It overflows and is seen in everything they do.'' Certainly in everything Reynolds Price wrote.
-Vic
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/21/books/21price.html?_r=1&ref=obituaries