Bøger af Kirk Neely

Down on his luck, a farmer raffles off a dead mule. While preparing a Sunday dinner, a woman finds her lost diamond in a chicken gizzard. A rural post office closes for bush hogging and dog dipping. Kirk Neely's down-home stories are about his neck of the woods. Just like his blue jeans after an adventure in Dead Horse Canyon, Neely's tales are caked with red clay. These fifty country tales are set in the Blue Ridge Mountains, the rivers of the Piedmont Carolinas, the cotton mills, and the lumberyard.

Kirk Neely's ode to the redemptive power of Christma harkens back to O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi." Along the way, he introduces us to Sara Williams, a young woman who carries the family legacy of sweetgrass basket making but whose life has gone off track into drugs and prostitution. In the story "Joe's Tree," we follow a Christmas tree on a miraculous journey from a child's grave to a frat house to a children's shelter. And, together with Mary Alice McCall we learn how slaves once used handmade quilts as a beacon of hope. Against all odds, the transformative power of Christmas works its way into the lives of these characters, bringing meaning, insight, and joy. This collection of holiday stories is a powerful reminder of why we celebrate the season of Christmas.

Sooner or later, each of us journeys through the valley of the shadow of death. Kirk H. Neely has been through that valley, including the unexpected death of his twenty-seven-year-old son. He has also been a pastor and counselor for forty years, helping others journey through their own experiences of grief.Full of compassion and wisdom, When Grief Comes helps readers understand how to come to terms with death, whether expected or sudden. It also walks readers through the process of grieving as we experience life as a series of attachments and separations. Through this journey of grief, readers will learn that God gives gifts of grace and symbols of hope to bring strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow.