What was your favorite picture book as a kid?

I loved Winnie the Pooh books.

What was the first “real” book (with chapters and without pictures) you remember reading?

I don’t remember my first real book, but when I was around nine or ten years old, I loved Enid Blyton’s books, especially the books in the St. Clare’s series.

What was your most favorite book in high school?

I became a fan of P.G. Woodehouse in high school. The Inimitable Jeeves made me laugh the most.

What was your least favorite book in high school?

I disliked the story and characters of Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.

What was the last novel you read?

Everything Sad Is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri is a fantastic book. Nayeri intersperses his childhood experiences as a refugee to the U.S. from Iran with Persian mythological stories.

What was the last nonfiction book you read?

All Who Are Weary: Finding True Rest By Letting Go of the Burdens You Were Never Meant to Carry by Sarah H. Hauser. This book helped me understand the concept of rest through a biblical lens. I also read A Sacred Sorrow: Reaching Out to God in the Lost Language of Lament (Quiet Times for the Heart) by Michael Card and came away with a better understanding of lament and its purpose.

Which book lived up to the hype (from the past 1-2 years)?

The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese.

Which book do you love that needs more hype?

I can’t come up with a particular title but I believe that there are some great books written by writers of color that deserve more attention.

Next novel on your TBR (up to three).

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
The Secret Keeper of Jaipur by Alka Joshi

Next nonfiction on your TBR (up to three).

Tell Me the Stories of Jesus: The Explosive Power of Jesus’ Parables by R. Albert Mohler Jr.
Around India in 80 Trains by Monisha Rajesh
Tell Me the Dream Again: Reflections on Family, Ethnicity, and the Sacred Work of Belonging by Tasha Jun

Tell us about your recent release.

My first book, Far from Home: Discovering Your Identity as Foreigners on Earth, launched on July 12, 2022, and has won three awards. It’s also a finalist for the 2023 Christian Market Book Award. In Far from Home, I draw from my personal experiences as an immigrant and examine the lives of biblical heroes to shed light on how to find purpose and joy as citizens of heaven on earth.

Born and raised in Hyderabad, India, I moved to the US in 2008 shortly after getting married. The challenges I faced as an immigrant—separation from all things familiar, fracturing of identity, a sense of homelessness and the stress of assimilation—led to both an emotional and spiritual crisis. But God showed me that my struggle was also my strength. He changed my perspective by revealing to me that as His child who belonged to Him, I was a foreigner on earth. I found joy, hope, and purpose in embracing my identity as a spiritual immigrant.

I hope Far from Home encourages believers to see themselves as immigrants on earth so they can live with purpose and passion, holding loosely to things of the earth and chasing after those things that matter. We must anchor our trust and hope in God who is good, faithful, eternal, and unchanging and resist parking our identities in earthly idols which are fleeting and can never satisfy us or give us true joy.

Far from Home is part devotional, part Bible study, part memoir. It shows what life was like growing up in India, and I also recount a few experiences as an immigrant in the U.S., introducing the reader to the Indian/South Asian culture. Some parts of the book read like a devotional while others are rich in biblical character studies and teaching.

As a writer, I feel my book reflects who I am—an Indian, an America, an Indian-American, a storyteller, an immigrant, and a Bible teacher. I’m grateful that I could be myself and tell my stories and use all aspects of my identity to declare the goodness and greatness of God.

Mabel Ninan is an award-winning author, speaker, Bible teacher, and podcaster. An immigrant from India who has lived in seven cities across the U.S. in fifteen years, she navigates between cultures, feeling at home everywhere and nowhere.

In her first book, Far from Home: Discovering Your Identity as Foreigners on Earth, Mabel draws from her personal experience as an immigrant and examines the lives of biblical heroes to shed light on how we can find purpose and joy as sojourners on earth. Through her recently launched podcast, Far from Home with Mabel Ninan, she hopes to encourage believers to think biblically about immigration and immigrants.

With over a decade of experience serving in women’s ministry, Mabel enjoys reading, traveling, and dancing, but nothing gives her more joy than having conversations about the Bible. She is currently pursuing M.A. in Theological Studies from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Mabel lives with her husband, son, and Maltese pup in Northern California. 

Email: mabel@mabelninan.com
Website: www.mabelninan.com
Facebook/YouTube: @MabelNinan
Instagram: @mabel_ninan
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3qDfVuj
Grab a copy of my FREE resource, 7 Reasons Why Heaven Matters, here – https://bit.ly/3N3rR1x