Q&A with author Baptist minister and author Dana Trent

Flyleaf Books is hosting a discussion on Monday with Baptist minister and author Dana Trent. Her first book, “Saffron Cross: The Unlikely Story of How a Christian Minister Married a Hindu Monk,” is an account of her interfaith marriage.

Trent spoke with staff writer Gabriella Cirelli about the book, which is being released on Tuesday.

Daily Tar Heel: What inspired you to write about your interfaith relationship with your husband?

Dana Trent: My husband Fred and I met in December of 2008 on eHarmony.com. Neither of us went into it expecting to be partners with someone from another faith — I am a Christian minister, and Fred is a former Hindu monk and still a very devout Hindu. We were engaged in November of 2009, and after we got engaged, as two self-described theological nerds, we went to the closest bookstore in search of manuals on how to navigate an East meets West marriage. And we couldn’t find anything on Hindu-Christian relationships. There were volumes on Jewish-Christian relationships and only some on Muslim-Christian relationships, so we jokingly said, “We’ll write the book!”

We honeymooned in India in December of 2010, and if you’ve ever read anything about India or been there, it takes your life and turns it upside down. After returning from India we decided we really needed to write this story and get serious about sharing this journey.

DTH: How is the book structured?

DT: The book is a compilation of vignettes that marks from the early beginnings on eHarmony until Lent of 2013, so it covers approximately a three-year period. The chapters are pretty diverse as well — they range from our sex-free honeymoon in India to vegetarianism and observing the Sabbath, to some dark chapters of the struggles that many couples face. There is also a chapter on our pilgrimage to northern California, where my husband served as a monk. That was a really poignant experience for me, to be that close to where he practiced and experiencing Hinduism in the same setting that he did.

DTH: What are you hoping readers will take away from the book?

DT: I hope readers will realize that we all bring prejudices and fear to the table anytime we’re introduced to someone from another faith or culture, and I would love for us all to put them aside and get to know people — to strike up conversations with our neighbors, fellow students and co-workers to understand their faith journey and through that get deeper into ours.

When we have these new encounters, we’re forced to step back and ask ourselves, ‘What do I believe and what do I think,’ about things like God, scripture and faith. It’s a huge growth moment to step out of that comfort zone, and when college freshmen come to campus, sometimes it’s the first time they’ve been exposed to someone of another faith or culture, so it’s pertinent for them to take it as an opportunity for growth and get to know people whose gods look differently than theirs.

DTH: What do you discuss with students when you travel to speak at colleges?

DT: We discuss two main things. The first is fostering interfaith conversations and making sure there are groups on campus spaces for people to come together and have conversations and share stories, because that’s where real friendship and growing occurs.

The second thing is we ask them to cultivate an understanding for one another’s faith, not just simply a tolerance. It’s important to start with college students because they’re our future, and what a beautiful one we would have if we learned at an early age how to talk to one another and understand each other. We’re really excited about speaking to this population because college campuses are some of the most diverse communities in the world, and they can set a better example for all of us.

DTH: What was the hardest part of writing the book?

DT: The hardest part was sharing a story that is so intimate to me and to my relationship. It’s not just talking about my marriage journey, but also my faith journey, and these are hugely intimate topics that have to come together and speak with honesty, integrity and vulnerability. But even if just one reader reads a page and says, ‘Wow, I get that. I’m engaged in that story and I understand it,’ then it’s worth the struggle.

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