Vance to release memoir on return to Christian faith

Vice President JD Vance is publishing a new memoir that details his return to the Christian faith after years of lapse.

“I’ve been writing this book for a long time, and I’m honored to finally be able to share the full story with you all, “ he said in a post on X. “Communion is about my personal journey and how I found my way back to faith.”

The 304-page book, Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith, details Vance’s turn to atheism and subsequent return to Christianity, specifically Catholicism, in 2019.

“The story of how I regained my faith, of course, only happened because I had lost it to begin with,” Vance said in a statement. “The interesting question that hangs over this book, and over my mind, is why I ever strayed from the path. Why the Christian faith of my youth failed to properly take root.”

Vance, 41, has been working on the book since 2019 and is the first vice president “in recent memory” to release a book while in office, according to AP News.

He is again working with HaperCollins Publishers, which published his first memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, in 2016 and has sold millions of copies.

Vance said his faith offers a profound “sense of purpose” he never found at Yale University or working in finance, according to AP. Now, his faith “guides his work in public life” and “informs his vision for the future,” according to Harper Collins’ press release.

“To summarize this book: I’m a Christian, and I became a Christian because I believe that Jesus Christ’s teachings are true,” Vance said. “But I didn’t always think that, and by sharing my journey I might be helpful to others – Catholic, Protestant, or otherwise – who are seeking reconciliation with God.”

Communion details how the Christian faith has grounded Vance in various seasons of his life – as a child, young man, father and leader. The book will aid any reader who is searching for faith or purpose in his life, Harper Group President and Publisher Jonathan Burnham said in a statement.

“The Vice President’s deeply heartfelt story of doubt and regained belief resonates far beyond politics, offering a moving reflection on the questions that define this moment in American public life,” he said.

Vance said his story is evidence of God’s grace more than his own success.

“I’m glad I found my way back to the Church. I learned much along the way,” he said. “But if you believe as I do, you know I’ve been fortunate and touched by God’s grace.”

The book releases June 16.