In the eight years author J. S. Park has served as a chaplain at a hospital designated a Level 1 Trauma Center, he has witnessed hundreds of people die, their deaths caused by accidents, violence, and diseases.In explaining his role, Park writes, “Maybe you’re not sure what a hospital chaplain is. A
As a big TV fan, there’s nothing better than finding a hidden gem, a show that hasn’t been widely discovered yet but is so good you want to shout about it from the rooftops.Trying, a BBC/Apple TV collaboration with four seasons under its belt, checks off all the boxes for me:Sweetness mitigated by h
Motherhood might be intuitive for some people. But it might also be a season of lost self-identity for many. Author Alli Worthington begins her book with the claim that “modern motherhood is broken.” Apart from the perpetual mom guilt of “not doing enough,” many mothers are burdened by expectations,
Jocelyn Green is well-known in the Christian fiction world thanks to her Windy City Saga and other novels, including the Christy Award-winning The Mark of the King. Her newest, which released in June, is the second in the On Central Park series that began with The Metropolitan Affair.The Hudson Coll
Resound Worship is a collective of British worship songwriters that seeks to write songs for the church. They have four goals: to publish songs that are theologically robust, reflect the full range of human emotions, have singable melodies that are engaging for a congregation, and have been through
Twenty-one-year-old twins Peggy and Maude have worked as bindery girls at the Oxford University Press since they were 12 years old. Now it's 1914, World War I is ravaging Europe, and its repercussions are being felt in Britain, including in the bindery as men leave their employment to enlist.Though
There are times when combining two or more good things doesn’t produce a better result. I’m thinking about going to 7-Eleven as a child and combining all four of my favorite soda pops into one Big Gulp. I had this foreboding hunch in mind as I watched the first episode of Netflix’s The Magic Prank S
Who was Rosetta Wakeman and why did she make the unusual choices she did? Author and illustrator Joanna Lapati answers these questions in her uniquely illustrated children’s picture book, which introduces young readers to the life and letters of a woman who disguised herself as a man and enlisted in
God created us as embodied human beings. The body has a natural healing ability to overcome adversity, pain, and even trauma. When we consider all things as coming from a benevolent God, including how our body experiences its surroundings, it brings a new revelation about the guidance of God in our
Acoustic quartet Acts of Congress provides a stunning blend of violin, mandolin, and guitar music in The Hymns That Made Us. The Birmingham, Ala., group offers 10 selections including “Nothing But the Blood,” “How Great Thou Art,” “Christ the Solid Rock,” “I’ll Fly Away,” “Amazing Grace,” and a less
SightReviewed by Lorilee CrakerSight is based on the true life story of Dr. Ming Wang, a Chinese immigrant who faced trauma and loss in his homeland but who eventually pioneered an eye surgery technique that has restored sight to millions around the world.The movie flashes back and forth from the pr
It’s a transfixing premise that makes a book mesmerizing and unputdownable.Between You and Us, by Kendra Broekhuis, boasts one of the most alluring premises I have ever heard: “When a grieving woman unexpectedly steps into a different version of her life, she must choose between the husband she love
The cab driver in Chicago needed someone to push back at him, kindly but firmly, but I felt slightly ill at the prospect of speaking my piece.For the past half hour, my husband and I and two of our kids had listened mutely and wide-eyed to an increasingly racist monologue, and I knew I had to say so
Crime drama The Chelsea Detective whisks us to an upscale area of London—an area once home to the likes of the Beatles and other fabulous 1970s celebs—where protagonist Detective Inspector Max Arnold solves crimes with pitbull determination and grit.Off hours, he lives on a riverboat—newly alone—on
A young girl named Sumi is proud of her mother—a native of the province of Kerala, India, who now lives in the United States—because she has two tongues. Sumi observes, “With one tongue, she speaks Malayalam. With the other tongue, she speaks English.” Sometimes Sumi’s mother speaks a combination of
In this emotionally complex and stunningly well-crafted debut novel for adults set in Chicago in 1987, author Tina Shelton narrates the story of one family from the alternating perspectives of the mother Charlotte and her 14-year-old daughter Gracey.With three generations under one roof, life in the
In the winter of 2019, a number of women who lead worship in various capacities got together to write and share songs and stories of faith. They released their debut album under the name Faithful. Last year they assembled again and have created an album that speaks to our place in the family of God
Thirty years ago, the Japanese company Nintendo became reluctant to license its intellectual property when a live-action Super Mario Bros movie commercially and critically failed in 1993. At the time, film critics Siskel and Ebert gave the live-action film two thumbs down, stating “tonal inconsisten
Author Kimberly Brubaker Bradley’s third WWII novel for middle grade readers—the others are The War That Saved My Life and The War I Finally Won—is set in France in 1942.Twelve-year-old Miriam—called Miri by her family and friends—lives in Paris. A few years earlier, her family had fled Germany when
God Gave Rock and Roll to You is a substantial treatment of the Contemporary Christian Music industry that first developed in the 1970s and became a major economic force in the 1990s. In this carefully researched book, Payne, a professor of American Religious History at Portland Seminary, weaves the