If you're of the opinion that autobiographies should wait until the author's twilight years when he's lived his life and figured out what it means, this is not your book. My Faith So Far covers the author's high school and college years, and the end of the book is a confession that the questions and doubts the he had then are still kicking around inside him.

We get to follow Patton's trip through the culture of evangelical/charasmatic Christianity in Colorado Springs and then at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa. He writes much of the book in present tense, which sometimes makes it hard to tell whether he's describing beliefs he had then or ones he holds now, but which also give his story immediacy. I was with him as he struggled with listening to Christian music, which was often second-rate, versus secular music, which made him feel guilty. He's the real deal, not a tourist--he speaks in tongues, prays for hours, testifies to unbelievers--but he still questions himself and what the church is telling him. I loved the tour of Oral Roberts University, where the students have a dress code and prayer circles take up most of Technical Journalism class. Patton shows himself and other students making fun of the excesses of Christian culture, but he never loses the earnest desire to find out what Christianity is for him.

As a secular person, I found nothing in this book to offend me--no thoughtless slams or assumptions-- and much to fascinate me. Patton's philosophizing and angst were sometimes skimmable, but it was an accurate portrait of the thoughts and conversations of someone that age. I will definitely check out any future books of his.

I'm not an evangelical nor Christian in any real sense, but I think this is a terrific little memoir. My use of "little" isn't derogatory -- it's a short book, precisely told, revealing much about growing up in the last few decades as well as the changing shape of religion in America. Mainly, though, it's a good story.