How amazing is grace? Eight short stories trace the path of grace through the lines of a well-known hymn that was birthed in tragedy. ◆ "The Sweetest Sound" by Stacy Monson In this prequel to When Valleys Mourn, book 2 of the My Father’s House series, teenagers Wendy and Jimmy want only to raise their unexpected blessing in a home filled with love, but they are faced with an impossible dilemma. What’s best for their daughter—living a hand-to-mouth existence for now with parents who adore her or being placed with strangers in hopes she has a better life than they can offer? ◆ "I'd Like to Thank the Academy" by Sara Davison Lizzy Cross leaves her small town of Elora, Ontario to seek fame and fortune among the stars in the City of Angels. When she finds herself perpetually lost in L.A., it takes a blind man sitting on a park bench playing a guitar to help her see what she has truly been searching for all along. ◆ "Reconstituted" by Deb Elkink Aging expat Dolores, retiring alone in colonial Mexico and agitated over losing her youth, meets up for an afternoon cultural tour with her visiting granddaughter and new baby. Their mother-child vitality forces Dolores to face the fear that drove her from her family and the grace that calls her back to Christian faith. ◆ "A Portion of Grace" by Eleanor Bertin Can a salty nonagenarian with a sketchy history bridge the growing chasm between a teenage girl and her father, a cop who’s seen everything? ◆ "Paper Trail" by Johnnie Alexander The ephemera of a teenager’s life reveals God’s grace after a tragedy threatens to destroy her. ◆ "Jillian's Refuge" by Angela D. Meyer A young woman angry and alone after the death of her father. An older woman offering a refuge to heal. Together, they find peace during the unexpected turns of life. ◆ "Forever Mine" by Candace West Neither of them wants to be friends. Again. A car accident involving her mom sends Trixie Morgan packing to her hometown of Foggy Knob, North Carolina. She leaves behind an unsigned contract, the fulfillment of a lifelong ambition. Though she once had another dream. Andrew Byrne wakes up from emergency surgery and discovers he has lost his arm due to a car accident. Even worse, the other driver is Trixie Morgan’s mother. Recovery is hard enough without the pain of seeing Trixie every day. The accident brought them together, but what initially drove them apart was not. Or was it? ◆ "Spines & Leaves" by Chautona Havig Books are the strings that tie hearts together. One man, one store, thousands of books. What'll it take to keep this bookstore from becoming a book ghost town... and what'll it take for Milton to tie two heartstrings together? These characters each desperately seek a variety of prizes: relationships, hope, fame and fortune, security, eternal youth. All of them struggle through trials and troubles to stumble upon the same amazing answer.