This is a riveting portrait of an artist whose beliefs about art, religion, and politics intersect. Barry Woods Johnston’s As We Sow is an insightful and sprawling memoir that mixes religion and art, revealing a life shaped by political upheaval and artistic expression. The memoir centers on Johnston’s life growing up in the South. It includes accounts of his service in the Vietnam War and how he was inspired to become an artist, which helped him cope with post-traumatic stress disorder. It also follows his time spent studying art in Italy before he became an inventor and sculptor. The organizing assertion is that individuality is pivotal to happiness. Interspersed throughout the work are Johnston’s beliefs about the government, as well as poems centered on religion. Johnston’s ideas about the government, the liberalization of morals, and about how political correctness changed the country make this memoir distinctive, as do his explorations of the idea that art shouldn’t be corporately sponsored, a notion that is returned to throughout the book. Johnston offers plenty of research to support his views, particularly the idea that freedom is key to survival. Quotes from psychologists, artists, and philosophers are used throughout to uphold the project’s libertarianism, and convincing data is provided to argue that the free market and financial independence are key to American progress. Such data is effectively mixed with anecdotes to show how such principles played out in the author’s life. Johnston also shows how religious beliefs shaped him, indicating that his faith in God saw him through his most challenging times, from his time in Vietnam to his joining a religious art colony. Passages about how faith helped him find peace after surviving war are passionate, with heartfelt and emotional language. The author’s evangelical Christian beliefs are balanced by his conviction that people need to accept those of all faiths and races. He quotes the Buddha, and his open-minded meditations on religion add a unique flavor to the memoir. The prose is at its most personal and emotional in its discussion of traumatic events, from marriages that ended to a near-fatal heart attack. In such moments, Johnston’s writing turns reflective—less about presenting grandiose ideas than about expressing innermost feelings. This confessional quality is both vulnerable and relatable. Well-organized chapters follow Johnston’s story chronologically, and pictures of his bronze sculptures are included to add depth to the narrative. The beginnings of the chapters also feature provocative quotes from authors to shed more light on the events in his life. This is a riveting portrait of an artist whose beliefs about art, religion, and politics intersect. ELLA VINCENT