A lot of non-profit leaders give me their books to read. I’m always a bit skeptical about that because so many are what I call puff pieces — they are nothing more than advertisements for the author’s organization. They practice subtle marketing rather than being thought leaders.

But Kent Annan has broken out of that trap. His book After Shock: Searching for Honest Faith When Your World Is Shaken is excellent. This is a thoughtful book that walks us through the deep questions of our faith, and does so in the midst of incredible suffering caused by the earthquake in Haiti.

Annan is transparent about his doubts, worries, and weaknesses. But he blends that with hope, faith, and focus. Yes, stories abound about his work in Haiti and there is even the occasional mention of his organization. But that’s not the focus. Here is a book that is truly seeking to delve into new ground, to add to the conversation about the goodness of God (or the failure of God to protect us). The titles of the two parts of the book sum it up well: Confronting a Crisis of Faith in part one, and Searching For Honest Faith in part two.

This is a good one to read, especially if you work in international ministry of some kind. Or if you want to explore some of the big questions about faith, such as why God allows suffering. But mostly you will want to read this book if you want to understand what we can learn from the poor, from tragedy, and from each other.

Full disclosure: Although we have several mutual friends, I have never met the author. I received the book from my daughter Rachel, who met him at an event hosted by Shane Claiborne and Tony Campolo. Rachel asked the author to sign a copy for me. Thanks, Kent.

So tell you what. If you buy this book via the link below, Amazon will give me a tiny referral fee. Whatever I get from that in 2013, I’ll donate to Haiti Partners.