About

Holy Troublemakers & Unconventional Saints is an illustrated children's book about people of diverse faiths working for more love, kindness, and justice in their corners of the world, even when that means rocking the religious boat. With original portraits from more than two dozen artists and engaging profiles of people from different faiths and different eras, these are stories that inspire, educate, challenge, and encourage. (There is now a companion curriculum also available for home or church use.)

Some of the people featured in this book are well known, like the beloved St. Francis of Assisi (a favorite of Hufflepuffs everywhere for his love of animals), who gave up a wealthy inheritance to serve the poor, Rumi, the Sufi poet, and Thich Nhat Hanh, the beloved teacher who developed the concept of engaged Buddhism. Some are well known, but the deep faith motivating their work is lesser known, such as Harriet Tubman, Florence Nightingale, and Mr. Rogers.

Others are less known such as Bayard Rustin, an American Quaker whose role in the civil rights movement of the 1960s is often downplayed because he was a gay man; Maryam Molkara, an Iranian Muslim transgender rights advocate; and Regina Jonas, the first female rabbi to be ordained whose story was almost lost to history.

In particular, Holy Troublemakers & Unconventional Saints emphasizes the stories of women, LGBTQ people, people of color, Indigenous people, and others who are too often written out of religious narratives. These stories move us towards more love and a faith that works for the common good of us all.

Holy Troublemakers & Unconventional Saints is a middle-grade nonfiction (ages 9 and up) book. You can read several sample profiles here.

Companion Curriculum

We now have two robust companion curriculums, each with 12 lessons that can be expanded to 24 or even 36 lessons. The Holy Troublemakers & Unconventional Saints companion curriculum supports expansive, inclusive, and joyful faith that expands our hearts, helps us stir up good and holy trouble where it’s needed, and commits to telling stories of love, kindness, courage, and justice.

Many youth leaders have told us that their youth have engaged with this curriculum enthusiastically and connected with it like no other curriculum they’ve tried. It’s aimed at the middle grades and youth ages but has scaffolds and dig deeper options to extend that range on both sides, especially up into young adults.

All lessons are drawn from the profiles in the Holy Troublemakers & Unconventional Saints book—people of diverse faiths, both past and present, who have worked for more love, kindness, and justice in their corner of the world.

The curriculum is now available in two parts: “Long Live Good & Holy Trouble” and “We Are Made of Stories & Stardust.”

You can learn more at the Curriculum page.

About the Author

This book is written by Daneen Akers, a teacher, writer, and mother who believes deeply in the power of stories. Daneen has taught language arts and English at the middle school, high school, and college level. Besides good books, she’s also very fond of walks in the woods, snuggles with her daughters, and large pots of hot beverages enjoyed with friends. She is the mother of two children, and they have been primary motivators for her writing about a faith that works for the common good.

Some of Daneen’s previous projects include the Seventh-Gay Adventists documentary and Outspoken short documentary film series.

About the Publisher

Holy Troublemakers & Unconventional Saints is published by Watchfire Media, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) public charity. Watchfire Media produces life-affirming, spiritually expansive books and films for the spiritually unconventional who have children in their lives whom they want to be comfortable with the big questions of faith and meaning, awed by the beauty of the world and her people, and ultimately committed to love, kindness, courage, and justice.