What if faith is not about certainty—but about love, doubt, and the courage to keep asking questions?

Living in the Soul (with a Bear) is a luminous theological memoir that follows one man’s lifelong spiritual journey beyond doctrine, dogma, and fear. Raised a Christian but uneasy with institutional religion, Peter Harpley explores belief as something lived rather than declared—shaped by childhood vulnerability, profound moments of grace, and an enduring sense that God is present not in authority, but in love.

Blending personal narrative with accessible historical scholarship, the book re-examines Jesus through the eyes of modern historians, unpicking myth from meaning and uncovering a wisdom often obscured by centuries of doctrine. Along the way, Harpley confronts Christianity’s uncomfortable legacies—patriarchy, violence, and exclusion—while reclaiming lost voices such as Mary Magdalene and the mystical traditions sidelined by orthodoxy.

At the heart of the book is an image both tender and unsettling: a childhood bear named Scrappy, a symbol of innocence, protection, and divine love that accompanies the author into adulthood. Through solitude, failed relationships, and deep reflection, faith slowly clarifies—not into certainty, but into trust.

Honest, questioning, and quietly radical, Living in the Soul is written for seekers, doubters, and anyone who believes that God may be found not in answers, but in the soul itself.