People have always fascinated sociologist Perry Warren, yet his most personal relationships—with his wife and young son—are in shambles. If his marriage crumbles, will his son be raised fatherless, just as he was? Hoping distance will offer answers, Perry accepts a writing project in the town of Derby, South Carolina, and there discovers a wealth of research—and a reason to hope—in the strange yet fascinating neighbors next door.Eldeen Rafferty seems completely unfettered by the sorrows she has known. Instead, she embraces life in all its gritty, glorious detail, determined to leave cheer in her wake. Perry is baffled by her unending joy and her boundless gratitude, and he wonders what she might be able to offer to a life haunted by troubles...a life he is at a loss to repair on his own.Suncatchers, Jamie Langston Turner's first novel, launched this premier novelist's journey toward recognition of her Winter Birds in Publishers Weekly's Best Books of 2006.

Award-winning author Jamie Langston Turner has developed a loyal following of readers with her well-developed characters who realistically struggle with matters of life and faith. When Celia Coleman's grandmother dies, she must return to the small town she hoped never to see again. Her memories of her grandmother's home and church--and of her own behavior there--are not happy ones. The man next door is struggling with guilt over his own past, and Celia wants nothing to do with him. In this masterfully written, inspiring story of reconciliation, both will come to recognize the vastness of God's grace.

The first step to letting go of the past is forgiving it...Every day of her life Julia Rich lives with the memory of a horrible accident she caused long ago. In the years since, she has tried to hide her guilt in the quiet routine of teaching at a small South Carolina college, avoiding close relationships with family and would-be friends. But one day a phone call from Carmen, a niece she has never met, disrupts her carefully controlled world.Carmen is a study in contrasts—comical yet wise, sunny yet contemplative, soft yet assertive. As she sets about gently drawing Julia from her self-imposed solitude into a place of hope, she also seeks her own peace for past mistakes.Together, the two women embark on a journey that takes Julia far from the familiar comfort of home and gives Carmen the courage to open her heart. Together, their sightseeing trip turns into a discovery of truth, grace, redemption, and, finally, love...

Margaret Tuttle's story is one of love unsought, for she had been perfectly content with the well-ordered and conveniently predictable life she had arranged for herself.But something dark lurks beneath the surface of her placid and uncluttered being, something dusty with neglect, yet painful to the touch. Birdie Freeman is everything Margaret is not: homely, humble, and generous. It is Birdie who manages, through nothing but acts of love, to dredge up Margaret's memories of things better left buried. Then Margaret discovers that Birdie harbors secrets of her own. "This book reminds me of why I love to read."--Michelle Collings, Editor, Doubleday/Crossings Book Club