Hope Begins Where Hope Begins

In this book on hope, popular retreat leader and presenter Michael Downey shows how ordinary Christians can find hope in today's world of changing values, a world that seems at times to be in a shambles. The questions Downey asks are ones we've all asked ourselves at one time or another, as we struggle with the challenges of life, the needs of family, friends and colleagues, as well as of jobs and school and home. Given so many challenges, how can Christians live fully in Jesus Christ? Why does hope seem so hard to come by? Just what is hope? What makes hope possible? What does it mean to say that our hope is in Christ?

As Downey seeks to answer these questions, he tells us personal stories of loss: a stolen car, a beloved grandmother dying in a nursing home. He also tells stories of people he has known: Ken the hiker; Kevin, whose wife left him; Ellen, a theology professor without faith; and how, despite loss, despite so many things going wrong, a trace of hope can glimmer in people's hearts all the same.

In the millennial year of the Holy Spirit -- of divine inspiration and hope -- Hope Begins Where Hope Begins shows us where and how to begin.