Hope's Daughters

This volume throws out a lifeline to all who are running low on hope--those going under, losing their grip, slipping away, falling, failing, listing, losing, lost--as well as to those looking to enliven and embolden their hope. Hope's Daughters takes a comprehensive, 360-degree approach to hope, drawing inspiration from nature, history, poetry, science, philosophy, religion, psychology, fiction, art, biography, sports, children, and current events. This hope "reader" is deeply personal, drawing on the author's thirty years spent in hospital chaplaincy plumbing the depths with patients, their families, and their caregivers. Willis writes not from some ivory tower, but out of the hot caldron of human suffering. As "a lover of words, quotations, and stories, and one who aspired to serve others as a hope-prompter," Willis packs every page with a two-minute drill to jumpstart hope each day. For hurried people, this book removes life's husk and gets straight down to the kernel. As a cornucopia of wisdom and hope, Hope's Daughters is an eminently practical gift for those seeking to keep hope alive and well. "Wayne Willis's words are a delight, certain to enhance anyone's devotional life. Willis writes with both a grace and a joy that are contagious, born not from skimming across the surface of life but rather from plunging into its depths. 'Hopefulness can be acquired,' Willis writes, and with this book, the reader finds this to be true." --Kathleen Long Bostrom, author of Finding Calm in the Chaos "Truly effective preachers help their people imagine a new and better future. In this moving collection of hope-filled stories and reflections, Willis offers a rich resource that pastors will find useful in preaching, teaching, or simply keeping our own hope alive." --J. Whit Malone, senior pastor, First Presbyterian Church of Hickory, NC "One reader thanked us for providing A Hope Note by saying, 'I open the paper every week to read [Willis's] column. It's almost like church. It gives me the boost to keep moving on, even when things get messy. I love it.' Yes, the notes are thought-provoking without being preachy." --Jo Ann Spieth-Saylor, editor of The Corydon Democrat R. Wayne Willis is Director of Pastoral Care emeritus for Norton Healthcare in Louisville, KY. He holds a BA in Greek and an MA in Church History from Abilene Christian University, an MDiv from Vanderbilt Divinity School, and a DMin from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Willis has also authored P.S. God, Can You Fly? Heartfelt and Hope-Filled Prayers of Children (2002) and Hope Notes: 52 Meditations to Nudge Your World (2004).