The Somewhat Frequently Asked Questions
Are you an atheist?
No. I’m Jewish, although very irreverent. I don’t follow most of the rituals, but I do share my people’s hereditary and even tribal leanings toward guilt and deli food.
What kind of book is And What If I’m an Atheist?
A really, really good one. Okay, seriously, And What If I’m an Atheist? is service journalism, which is sometimes defined as “news you can use.” Service journalism includes the how-to articles of Popular Mechanics and Better Homes and Gardens, newspaper stories about where to find a good neighborhood to raise kids or a good nightclub to raise hell, or books about investing in today’s volatile stock market or finding tomorrow’s fastest-growing careers. And about living as a teenage atheist.
Are you trying to encourage teenagers to become atheists?
No. If a teenager has a religion and likes it, that’s fine with me. And What If I’m an Atheist? is information for the teenager (or anyone else) who’s interested in unbelief and wants to know more about it, as well as for the teenager (or anyone else) who wants some guidance for living the godless life in a society where unbelievers are a minority.
At the same time, one of the book’s underlying principles is that there’s nothing terribly wrong with being an atheist or agnostic, just as there’s nothing terribly wrong with being religious.
Where’d you get the idea for the book?
I was getting to a point where I was finishing some writing assignments, so I did what I usually do when I’m looking for my next job: I studied the marketplace. Since I like writing nonfiction for teenagers -- known as YA or young adults in the book-publishing cosmos -- I looked up YA nonfiction bestseller lists on Amazon.com and elsewhere.
I noticed a lot of popular books for teenagers interested in religion and other spiritual matters. And I thought, “What about the teenage atheists?” At the time, books like Christopher Hitchens’ God is Not Great were burning up the adult bestseller lists, so I assumed that there must be books for teenage unbelievers.
But when I looked around, I couldn’t find any. It was quite a surprise, frankly.
As a Jew, I can empathize with anyone who’s in a religious minority. As a very secular person, I can empathize with unbelievers. And as a guy who feels like he’s going through an insecure, awkward stage (a period that I’ve endured for a few decades so far), I can definitely empathize with teenagers.
And so, after months of research and writing, here I am.
And now, we return you to our book in progress.
