My first memory was of a slap, hard across the face: the sting on my cheek and the jarring of my bones as I slammed back into my bed. It was my dad who had hit me. I had been four. Most of my memories were much of the same and no one ever saw, no one ever fought to help, no one ever cared. Then we moved. My new neighbor cared, rescued the twelve-year-old I had been from a beating. Always thought I'd suffer the nightmare alone, I was wrong. Mace Donati saved me that day in all the ways a person could be saved. And his daughter, Mia, she became the friend I had always wanted, my conscience when my own faltered, the light that led me home when I had lost my way. The girl who grew into the only woman I would ever love. But when you realize you're more like your father than the good people who took you in and gave you a home, the only way to return their kindness is to let them go. I let them go, got so far lost in the shadows I couldn't remember who I was anymore. Mia never gave up on me. She fought for me, kept the light on so I'd find my way back. And when I did, life threw us a curveball. I had to hurt Mia in order to save her. But when my past comes back to haunt me and I almost lose her, I'm ready to fight for her...fight to find a way back into her heart while keeping the demons from my past from finishing what they started. Cole Campbell

Life’s painful trials can bring shame about our inadequate and broken faith. There is relief in hearing the expressions of desperation in the psalmist’s voice. He didn’t experience this life perfected, and we don’t either. But the psalmist was loved. So are we. God was so kind to give us the Psalms. To walk through darkened days is part of the human experience. To walk through them with faith, comfort, strength, joy, and hope is part of the divine experience. Our eyes, though, are often clouded to those blessings by the thing oppressing us. When we remember and recognize our Father’s faithfulness, when we see reality with the eyes of understanding, the darkness ebbs and the light of hope grows. The impossible, unbearable, and unthinkable becomes the hidden passageway to truth, hope, and joy in Christ. These letters were originally written as encouragement to a friend when the darkness began to overtake his path. Each day for 22 days, a letter arrived with one of the eight-verse sections from Psalm 119 along with a small thought to bring light and hope and to be a reminder that we do not fight our battles alone. The letters, along with nine more devotions on the subject of experiencing God in the dark, make up this powerful, honest, hope-filled 31-day devotional.

In the land of darkness lives a shaggy but lovable creature. He is pining away because he has lost his home and has lived in the dark ever since. One day, the shaggy creature is overcome with curiosity and ventures out to the edge of the darkness. There, bathed in sunlight and bright colors, lives a very different and gentle creature. The two inhabitants of these different world become friends, and with his new friend, the shaggy creature overcomes his loss and finds his way back to the world of color. A quietly poetic story, told by Kerstin Hau, which gives hope and courage in difficult times. With contrasting imagery by Julie Völk, this book shows that life can be light, colorful, black, grey, and everything in between.

A stunning masterclass on the creative process, the craft of writing, and the art of finding inspiration from Stephen King, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amy Tan, Khaled Hosseini, Roxane Gay, Neil Gaiman, and more of the most acclaimed writers at work today "For artists in need of a creative fix, Light the Dark is as good as a visit from the divine muse." -Bookpage What inspires you? That's the simple, but profound question posed to forty-six renowned authors in LIGHT THE DARK. Each writer begins with a favorite passage from a novel, a song, a poem—something that gets them started and keeps them going with the creative work they love. From there, incredible lessons and stories of life-changing encounters with art emerge, like how sneaking books into his job as a night security guard helped Khaled Hosseini learn that nothing he creates will ever be truly finished. Or how a college reading assignment taught Junot Díaz that great art can be a healing conversation, and an unexpected poet led Elizabeth Gilbert to embrace an unyielding optimism, even in the face of darkness. LIGHT THE DARK collects the best of The Atlantic's much-acclaimed "By Heart" series edited by Joe Fassler and adds brand new pieces, each one paired with a striking illustration. Here is a guide to creative living and writing in the vein of Daily Rituals, Bird by Bird, Draft No. 4, and Big Magic for anyone who wants to learn how great writers find inspiration—and to find some of your own. CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS: Elizabeth Gilbert, Junot Díaz, Marilynne Robinson, Jonathan Lethem, Michael Chabon, Aimee Bender, Mary Gaitskill, Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, Roxane Gay, Angela Flournoy, Jonathan Franzen, Yiyun Li, Leslie Jamison, Claire Messud, Edwidge Danticat, David Mitchell, Khaled Hosseini, Ayana Mathis, Kathryn Harrison, Azar Nafisi, Hanya Yanagihara, Jane Smiley, Nell Zink, Emma Donoghue, Jeff Tweedy, Eileen Myles, Maggie Shipstead, Sherman Alexie, Andre Dubus III, Billy Collins, Lev Grossman, Karl Ove Knausgaard, Charles Simic, Jim Shepard, T.C. Boyle, Tom Perrotta, Viet Thanh Nguyen, William Gibson, Mark Haddon, Ethan Canin, Jesse Ball, Jim Crace, and Walter Mosley. "As [these authors] reveal what inspires them, they, in turn, inspire the reader, all while celebrating the beauty and purpose of art." -Booklist

“In The Radiant Midnight you will find not merely abstract ideas about the essence of darkness or how to go about facing it. You will also find humor, Wisdom. Honesty. You will find Melissa’s very bone and blood…it is here, then, in reading—rather, perhaps, listening to—her words, that your heart, trapped as it may feel in its own midnight, begins to see the first signs of dawn.” –Curt Thompson, MD, author of Anatomy of the Soul Grace and Hope for Long Dark Nights Have you ever suffered with depression, sadness, or the feeling that you just can't seem to get it together? Do you wonder if you could ever view your deepest wounds in a different light? Through candid storytelling, biblical truth, honest lament, and unexpected humor, The Radiant Midnight is a bold refusal to simplify the experience of suffering by moving too quickly to try to relieve it. With questions to guide you and practical suggestions to lead you through dark moments, this book takes you on a journey of surrender, suffering, rest, and restoration as it encourages and comforts you in whatever struggle you face. The message of The Radiant Midnight is fueled by the passionate belief that not only will God lead you out of darkness, He will be fully and beautifully present within it. You can find deep contentment in painful circumstances and discover a profound intimacy with a compassionate, tender God who is with you in every moment—in each hope-filled dawn and every radiant midnight.

The Light That Was Dark is a sober warning to the world and to the Church. Author Warren Smith learned some hard lessons as a spiritual seeker. Smith's spiritual trek took him deep into the California subculture of alternative New Age spirituality. He was led to various New Age teachers and teachings that seemed to promise new wonders and a deeper sense of spiritual fulfillment to satisfy his ever-intensifying spiritual yearnings. Just as everything seems to be coming together for Smith, several unexpected jolts and twists occur in his life. Concerned that today's Church is being seduced by the same false teachings and same false Christ that drew him into the New Age, Smith shares his story.

The International Bestseller On April 10, 2019, award-winning astrophysicist Heino Falcke presented the first image ever captured of a black hole at an international press conference—a turning point in astronomy that Science magazine called the scientific breakthrough of the year. That photo was captured with the unthinkable commitment of an intercontinental team of astronomers who transformed the world into a global telescope. While this image achieved Falcke’s goal in making a black hole “visible” for the first time, he recognizes that the photo itself asks more questions for humanity than it answers. Light in the Darkness takes us on Falcke’s extraordinary journey to the darkest corners of the universe. From the first humans looking up at the night sky to modern astrophysics, from the study of black holes to the still-unsolved mysteries of the universe, Falcke asks, in even the greatest triumphs of science, is there room for doubts, faith, and a God? A plea for curiosity and humility, Light in the Darkness sees one of the great minds shaping the world today as he ponders the big, pressing questions that present themselves when we look up at the stars.