Happy to report that the ARC for Whole and Human is now available on NetGalley. Here is the full press release of my forthcoming title!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New Book Invites Readers to Reclaim Embodied Faith Beyond Survival
Rohadi Nagassar offers forty sensory-rich meditations for liberating body and spirit
HARRISONBURG, VA — In a world marked by polarization, violence, and ongoing collective grief, many spiritual traditions continue to emphasize denial, sacrifice, and endurance. But what if faith practices focused instead on nourishment, joy, justice, and embodied love?
In Whole and Human: Forty Meditations for Liberating Body and Spirit (releasing May 26, 2026), author, minister, and podcaster Rohadi Nagassar invites readers to awaken their senses and reclaim a faith that helps them do more than survive. Through forty meditations rooted in the five senses, Nagassar offers a restorative spiritual path that centers the body, honors the land, pursues justice, and nurtures the spirit.
“Disdain for the poor; curtailing women’s rights; purity culture; despising migrants with irregular status; despising Black, brown, or Muslim folks; unbridled support for authoritarian leaders; queer, trans, Two-Spirit exclusion; profit-motivated ethics; exploitive approach to creation . . . There is no shortage of Christian beliefs that impede wholeness and liberation,” writes Nagassar. “Those formed in, or adjacent to, Christian traditions need a rewrite.”
Rather than ignoring hardship or loss, Whole and Human acknowledges the weight of contemporary realities while offering life-giving practices that cultivate wonder, curiosity, and love. Each meditation engages themes of land, body, spirit, and justice and includes embodied practices that encourage readers to experience faith through touch, taste, sight, sound, and smell.
Readers may follow the meditations in a traditional daily rhythm or choose their own path by focusing on specific themes or bodily senses. This flexible structure makes the book suitable for personal reflection, small groups, or spiritual directors seeking fresh, inclusive resources.
A follow-up to Nagassar’s acclaimed When We Belong: Reclaiming Christianity on the Margins, Whole and Human continues his work of deconstructing, decolonizing, and reclaiming faith—this time with a strong emphasis on embodied spirituality and collective flourishing.
At its core, the book offers a hopeful invitation: to nourish our bodies instead of denying them, to cherish simple and beautiful moments, to pursue justice with imagination, and to learn—one day at a time—how to love ourselves and one another well.
Rohadi Nagassar is a writer and ordained minister. He has served part-time in vocational ministry since 2009, including three church plants, most recently an online and inclusive expression called A Beautiful Table.
Nagassar is the author of When We Belong: Reclaiming Christianity on the Margins and producer/host of the Faith in a Fresh Vibe Podcast, now with over 80 episodes. His experience includes over 20 years in the private sector in marketing consulting and communications, and 15 years of nonprofit experience in organizational development and governance. He is also the founder of RoBarry Publishing and cofounder of an emerging writing space for creators called the Ink and Root Collective.