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A-Tumblin' Down

By: Sarah Hinlicky Wilson
Narrated by: Sarah Hinlicky Wilson
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Publisher's Summary

A pastor with familiar doubts. A spouse just starting to feel at home. When heartbreak strikes, will the church heal their wounds, or only salt them?

Upstate New York, 1988. Pastor Donald Abney is plagued by uncertainty. Grandson of a fiery revivalist preacher, the gentle peacemaker wrestles with the contrast between their respective ministries. But when his household is rocked by a devastating accident, his misgivings become a painful certainty lacking any consolation.

Carmichael Abney wonders if she’s settled too soon. Haunted by alternate versions of herself, the devoted pastor’s wife and academic is furious when her parents reveal their Jewish heritage to her preteen daughter without her permission. But before she can work out how to handle that breach of trust, she suffers a life-shattering tragedy.

As Carmichael grapples with her grief, a former ally pressures her to change to suit a personal agenda and triggers an explosive reaction with far-reaching consequences. And though at first Donald’s preaching is invigorated by his pain, he falters as his congregation fractures in the wake of his wife’s outburst.

Will mounting tensions stop this grieving family from reclaiming life and hope?

By turns humorous, historical, and holy, A-Tumblin’ Down expertly reveals an intimate look at life inside the parsonage. Confronting difficult topics head-on with mystagogical realism, ironic observations, and energetic prose, Sarah Hinlicky Wilson delivers a compelling story of intense theological depth.

A-Tumblin’ Down is an absorbing work of literary fiction. If you like deeply human characters, lively discussions of faith, and blending adversity with hopefulness, then you’ll adore Sarah Hinlicky Wilson’s beautiful story.

Buy A-Tumblin’ Down to balance sorrow and grace today!

©2022 Sarah Hinlicky Wilson (P)2022 Sarah Hinlicky Wilson

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An engaging book about church conflict and more

I was alerted this book in the First Things journal 'Year of Reading' from 2022.

Here's what John Wilson wrote there:

"A-Tumblin’ Down
by sarah hinlicky wilson
hornbush press

Not many theologians write fiction; we should probably be grateful for that. But there are notable exceptions: Sarah Hinlicky Wilson, for instance. This new book, her first novel (though not her first work of fiction), counters preconceptions about what a theologically informed novel should look like. A fat family saga, it is subversively chatty, funny, relaxed, even as it also encompasses tragedy. "

This simple review is a helpful introdcton to the book. I said the book is about church conflict because that is what engaged me, as a Lutheran pastor, most of all. Hinlicky Wilson reads her own book, which she does very well.

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