A Lesson in Hope, page 21
part #10 of Harmony Series
Sam returned the Cocoa Krispies back to the shelf and bought oats instead.
“This is the start of a new life for you,” Mary Ann said, patting his hand. “I’m so proud of you.”
He pedaled his bike home, steering with one hand, carrying his groceries in the other. He felt funny, a little jittery, and decided he was going through withdrawal, so took a nap and woke up just as Barbara was pulling into the driveway, home from her job. He hurried to the closet, pulled out the vacuum cleaner, plugged it in and began vacuuming the living room, looking frantically busy when she walked in the house. Timing, he had learned after thirty-some years of marriage, was everything.
Also by Philip Gulley
A Place Called Hope
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Praise for Philip Gulley
“Gulley’s many fans will enjoy renewing acquaintance with Sam [Gardner], wince at his struggles, and grin at his triumphs, and eagerly turn pages as he makes his way through a maze of decisions and inner turmoil…A worthy and anticipated follow-up to the Harmony series.”
—Publishers Weekly on A PLACE CALLED HOPE
“Gentle and humorous.”
—BookPage on A PLACE CALLED HOPE
“Philip Gulley is a Quaker pastor from Indiana with a charming sense of small-town life—and a shrewd sense of life in general…A self-deprecating narrator…he knows how to exaggerate in a witty way.”
—The Wall Street Journal
“Gulley’s work is comparable to Gail Godwin’s fiction, Garrison Keillor’s storytelling, and Christopher Guest’s filmmaking…in a league with Jan Karon’s Mitford series.”
—Publishers Weekly
“The biggest collection of crusty, lovable characters since James Herriot settled in Yorkshire.”
—Booklist on The Harmony Series
“The tales Philip Gulley unveils are tender and humorous…filled with sudden, unexpected, lump-in-the-throat poignancy. Through deft storytelling and his own irresistible brand of humor, [Gulley] explores the depths of the Heartland’s heart. A masterpiece of Americana.”
—Paul Harvey, Jr.
“Philip Gulley is a beautiful writer.”
—Charles Osgood, CBS Sunday Morning
“Gulley is a splendid storyteller…his books abound with shrewd insights into human character.”
—Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
“Gulley’s stories get at the heart of the simple joys, stranger-than-fiction humor, and day-to-day drama of small-town life.”
—American Profile Magazine
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Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Welcome
Dedication
Acknowledgments
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
A Preview of “A Gathering in Hope”
Also by Philip Gulley
Praise for Philip Gulley
Newsletters
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2015 by Philip Gulley
Preview of A Gathering in Hope © 2016 by Philip Gulley
Cover design by Jody Waldrup
Cover illustration by Robin Moline
Cover copyright © 2015 by Hachette Book Group, Inc.
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher constitute unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at permissions@hbgusa.com. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
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First ebook edition: September 2015
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for.
ISBN: 978-1-4555-1985-9
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Philip Gulley, A Lesson in Hope
