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My Journey through the Valley of the Shadow
Beacon Press
September 2008
On Sale: September 17, 2008
145 pages
ISBN: 0807072931
EAN: 9780807072936
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction
On a February day in 2008, Forrest Church sent a letter to
the members of his congregation, informing them that he had
terminal cancer; his life would now be measured in months,
not years. In that remarkable letter, he wrote: "In more
than one respect, I feel very lucky." He went on to promise
that he would sum up his thoughts on the topics that had
been so pervasive in his work—love and death—in a final
book. Church has been justly celebrated as a writer of American
history, but his works of spiritual guidance have been
especially valued for their insight and inspiration. As a
minister, Church defined religion as "our human response to
the dual reality of being alive and having to die." The
goal of life, he tells us "is to live in such a way that
our lives will prove worth dying for." This last book in
his impressive oeuvre is imbued with ideas and exemplars
for achieving that goal. The stories he offers—drawn from
his own experiences and from the lives of his friends,
family, and parishioners—are both engrossing and
enlightening. Forrest Church's final work may be his most
lasting gift to his readers. "Forrest Church, a deeply spiritual but always practical
visionary, is a minister to us all with this moving and
instructive book on the lessons of life and death. A
lovely, important book."
—Tom Brokaw "Truly a gift, one that will echo in my own preaching and
teaching, and in my own life as well. Like Moses gazing at
the Promised Land he would not enter, Forrest Church
blesses us with his eloquence, his faith, and, mostly, his
love."
—Rabbi Harold Kushner, author of When Bad Things Happen to
Good People "Love & Death is transformative. I was not prepared for the
power of this splendid, soaring book. It totally captured
me."
—Sylvia Ann Hewlett, author of Creating a Life "In the midst of an extremity for which there is no
euphemism—the prospect of his own imminent death—Forrest
Church has written a book that defies the usual adjectives.
It is poignant, moving, candid, and eloquent; but it is
also so much more. Love & Death, a meditation on the end of
life, is really a book about life—a book that shows us how
to love ourselves and others, how to know God, how to live.
I read it with inexpressible gratitude."
—James Atlas, author of My Life in the Middle Ages "Forrest Church is one of our great prophetic intellectuals
and compassionate voices. His poignant and wise words on
the two ultimate realities of our journey—love and death—
reveal his grand courage and vision."
—Cornel West, author of Race Matters "This beautiful book by a matchless preacher, poet, and
author is Forrest Church in his finest hour."
—Senator George McGovern
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