About

Since moving to the Pacific Northwest in 2014, I have been covering this region's craft culture including food, beer, wine, spirits, cider, coffee, and cannabis/CBD, as well as the regional festival scene, and the rise of secular spiritual communities.

My eight books include Distilled in Washington: A History (The History Press, March 18, 2024) and Red and Blue God, Black and Blue Church (Jossey Bass, PW starred review), as well as contributing work to nine other books. In addition, I served as the Senior Contributing Editor for The Wittenburg Door, the nation's oldest religious satire magazine for over a dozen years. Currently, I serve now on their board of directors and contribute to the Door'ssubstack. Also, I write articles pertaining to spiritual health and wellness for both the online and print versions of Spirituality & Health.

Other recent writing credits include work for The Alcohol Professor, Beverage Master Magazine, The Daily Beast, Fodor's Travel, The Grapevine Magazine, Northwest Travel & Life, Oregon Wine Press, ROVA, and SIP Magazine.

Featured Work

Distilled in Washington: A History

2024
Non-fiction

About the Book

Washington has a tortured history with liquor. Efforts to ban or restrict it date back to 1854, before the region even attained statehood, with blue laws remaining on the books well into the twentieth century. Delve into the legends and the outliers responsible for this illicit and unsavory business that has now emerged as a respectable multimillion-dollar craft spirits industry. From Jimmie Durkin, an enterprising saloon owner, to Roy Olmstead, a former Seattle cop turned gentleman bootlegger, the business of liquor has inspired both trouble and innovation. Join author and journalist Becky Garrison as she traces the history of the barrel and the bottle from early settlement to the modern craft distilling boom in the Evergreen State.

Other Works

  • War of the Game

    Forthcoming

  • Roger Williams's Little Book of Virtues

    2020

  • LOVE, ALWAYS: Partners of Trans People on Intimacy, Challenge & Resilience

    2015

  • Sports Stories

    2011

  • Ancient-Future Disciples: Meeting Jesus in Mission-shaped Ministries

    2011

  • Banned Questions about Jesus AND Banned Questions about the Bible

    2011

  • Split Ticket: Independent Faith in a Time of Partisan Politics (WTF: Where's the Faith?)

    2010

  • Taking Flight: Reclaiming the Female Half of God's Image Through Advocacy and Renewal

    2010

  • Besides the Bible: 100 Books that Have, Should, or Will Create Christian Culture

    2010

  • Starting from Zero with $0: Building Mission-Shaped Ministries on a Shoestring

    2010

  • Jesus Died for This?: A Religious Satirist's Search for the Risen Christ

    2010

  • Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music: Pop, Rock, and Worship

    2009

  • The New Atheist Crusaders and Their Unholy Grail: The Misguided Quest to Destroy Your Faith

    2008

  • Rising from the Ashes: Rethinking Church

    2007

  • Red and Blue God, Black and Blue Church: Eyewitness Accounts of How American Churches are Hijacking Jesus, Bagging the Beatitudes, and Worshipping the Almighty Dollar

    2006

  • On the Ground After September 11: Mental Health Responses and Practical Knowledge Gained

    2005

  • Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music

    2005

  • Trout Fishing Near American Cities

    2002

  • TheDoorMagazine Interviews: Take Two (The Door Magazine)

    2002

  • On the Eighth Day God Laughed

    2000

Awards and Recognition

  • 2012 Knight Grant for Reporting on Religion and American Public Life.
  • Publishers Weekly Starred Review: Red & Blue God, Black and Blue Church, 2006

Press and Media Mentions