Lyz Lenz Books In Order

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Lyz Lenz is a published author and a journalist.

She is known for writing books such as God Land and Belabored. She has also written for different publications that include The New York Times, Insider, Marie Claire, and The Washington Post.

She also writes for Men Yell at Me, a newsletter that is about where personhood and politics intersect in red state America. She resides in the state of Iowa, where she shares her home with her two children.

God Land: A Story of Faith, Loss, and Renewal in Middle America is a 2019 book by Lyz Lenz. If you enjoy a good nonfiction memoir, this is a great book for you to read.

Following the results of the 2016 election, Lenz was one of many watching as her country but also her marriage were torn apart thanks to competing forces of faith and politics.

She was a mother to two, a Christian, and someone who had lived her entire life in middle America. Lenz was confused by all of the loss and the pain that was around her. The churches were empty, and the hearts were clearly broken in many occasions. When it comes to faith in the heartland, what exactly was happening?

From the drugstores in Sydney, Iowa, to skeet shooting in the rural parts of Illinois, to mega churches located up in Minneapolis, the author set out to try and look for the different forces of faith and tradition located in God’s country.

Partially a memoir and partially journalism, this book in the story of one person’s journey into the center and heart of an America that is deeply divided. Lenz goes to different places of worship all over the heartland and goes there to speak to the regular people who do their best to try to keep their churches going while often struggling and to also deal with things in an unstable land.

This is a look into the effects that religion and faith can have on all of our lives, all of our relationships, and on our country too. This book looks into whether the things dividing us can be bridged and whether America will ever be able to come together again. An interesting look at faith that you won’t want to miss!

This American Ex-Wife: How I Ended My Marriage and Started My Life is a 2024 book written by Lyz Lenz. It is a manifesto of sorts that deals with the gender politics of marriage (these are considered bad) as well as divorce (these are considered to be pretty good) that exist in America today, following along with the argument that the former requires a reboot.

Studies have shown that close to seventy percent of all divorces are started out by women. These are women who are not only tired but they are absolutely exhausted, fed up, and simply not happy. Lyz Lenz is a journalist but also one of those women, who saw her life fall apart when she got to a breaking point in her marriage of twelve years.

In this book that is equal parts exuberant and unapologetic, the author turns the script around on this narrative, preaching the gospel of the power that divorce has. While the concluding of a marriage is frequently seen as a failure of the individual, and frequently the woman is the one at fault, that is not always the case.

Still, you may have seen the way that divorced women are portrayed in the media. They are seen as sad, as lonely women, who are drowning their sorrows thanks to a bottle of wine in front of them, longing for a new man or partner in their life. Sometimes it can seem as they did something wrong, as they have been cast out from society and placed somewhere else.

The author views divorce as a practical solution with a lot of potential to have the power for women to go ahead and tack back the power that they are owed, while also taking a look at why we seem to deem divorce such a failure when heterosexual marriage has been flawed this entire time. Can women succeed in marriage when so many relationships are often based on inequality?

This book will put together reported topics along with sociological research, literature in popular culture, and personal stories of how people came together and also broke up to make an interesting portrait of American marriage as it is today. Lenz says that the mechanisms of American justice, power, love and gender inequality remain flawed and that marriage, just like any other cultural institution, is long due for a reckoning.

Different from other books about divorce, this is a manifesto for solidarity, acceptance, and collective female refusal that will have you going on an interesting ride. This memoir might even end up putting you moving towards something that frees you up a little more. Interesting on its own but the perfect read for those going through a divorce, so check it out!