Books Down from the Mountaintop: From Belief to Belonging | ||
Joshua Albert Dolezal (born September 1975 in Montana) (also spelled Doležal) is an American academic and writer. He is a full Professor of English studies at Central College (Iowa), focusing on American literature, creative nonfiction, medical humanities and sustainability issues. He is also the author of a memoir, Down from the Mountaintop: From Belief to Belonging, which details his upbringing in "a strict, cult-like Christian family" and which received widespread attention in connection with the 2015 controversy surrounding his sister, Rachel Dolezal. The book was described by Kim Barnes as an "intimate and lyrical story of fallen faith, found love, and the way we must sometimes circle back to find what we have lost." Dolezal is also the author of a number of essays, poems and academic papers.
Dolezal received a B.A. in English from King College in 1997, an M.A. in American Literature from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1999 and a Ph.D. in American literature at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2005. He has been on faculty at Central College since 2005.
He is married to the writer and blogger Amy Palanjian.