The Book of Longings

Name is Ana. Jesus had a wife, me.

Ana was raised in an affluent Sepphoris family with connections to the Galilean monarch. She is ambitious and rebellious, a born seeker with a sharp, inquisitive mind and a fearless attitude. She sees no outlet for her enormous abilities and longs for a life-worthy endeavour. She develops covert narratives about marginalised and neglected women and participates in covert academic endeavours, defying the expectations imposed on women. Both of them are attracted to and enhanced by the other's spiritual and philosophical beliefs when she meets the eighteen-year-old Jesus. He opens a floodgate for her mind and causes her heart to awaken.

Ana finds a home with Jesus, his brothers James and Simon, and their mother Mary in Nazareth, where their marriage develops with love and strife, humour and sadness. Here, during the tumultuous opposition to the Roman conquest of Israel, partly spearheaded by her charismatic adoptive brother Judas, Ana's longings become more intense. She is supported by other women, including as her friend Tabitha, who is sold into slavery after being raped, and Herod Antipas's cunning wife Phasaelis, in addition to her unwavering aunt Yaltha, who is looking for her long-lost daughter. Every now and again, Ana's recklessness brings trouble. Shortly before Jesus's public ministry starts, one such expedition compels her to leave Nazareth for her safety. She travels to Alexandria with Yaltha, where she finally finds solace and meaning in unexpected places.

Situated within a time, place, and culture designed to silence her, The Book of Longings is an inspiring story of one woman's bold struggle to realise the passion and potential inside her, grounded in meticulous historical research and written with a reverent approach to Jesus's life that focuses on his humanity.