In The Magnificent Defeat, Frederick Buechner examines what it means to follow Christ, the lessons of Christmas and Easter, the miracles of grace, and "the magnificent defeat" of the human soul of God.

A Room Called Remember brings together some of Buechner's finest writings on faith, love, and the power of words in the form of essays, addresses, and sermons. Here Buechner explores autobiography as theology, offers exhilarating reflections on biblical passages, and leads us into the "room called Remember," that "still room within us all where the past lives on as part of the present,...where with patience, with clarity, with quietness of heart, we remember consciously to remember the lives we have lived."

An acclaimed author interweaves history and legend to re-create the life of a complex man of faith fifteen hundred years ago. Winner of the 1987 Christianity and Literature Book Award for Belles-Lettres.

Spiritual and autobiographical reflections on the author's seminary days, early ministry, and writing career.

With eloquence, candor, and simplicity, a celebrated author tells the story of his father's alcohol abuse and suicide and traces the influence of this secret on his life as a son, father, husband, minister, and writer.

Frederick Buechner has long been a kindred spirit to those who find elements of doubt as constant companions on their journey of faith. He is a passionate writer and preacher who can alter lives with a simple phrase. Buechner's words, both written and spoken, have the power to revolutionize and revitalize belief and faith. He reveals the presence of God in the midst of daily life. He faces and embraces difficult questions and doubt as essential components of our lives, rather than as enemies that destroy us. "Listen to your life!" is his clarion call. This theme pervades this definitive collection of sermons, delivered throughout Buechner's lifetime. Presented chronologically, they provide a clear picture of the development of his theology and thinking. Reflecting Buechner's exquisite gift for storytelling and his compassionate pastor's heart, Secrets in the Dark will inspire laughter, hope, and bring great solace. Turn the pages and rediscover what it means to be thoughtful about faith. See why this renowned writer has been quoted in countless pulpits and beloved by Americans for generations.

Rich in family drama, passion, and human affinity, critically acclaimed author Frederick Buechner's contemporary retelling of this captivating and timeless biblical saga revitalizes the ancient story of Jacob, delighted our senses and modern sensibilities and gracing us with his exceptional eloquence and wit.

In Wishful Thinking, the first book in his much-loved lexical trilogy, Frederick Buechner puts the language of God, the universe, and the human spirit under his wry linguistic microscope. In his often ironic and always keen-sighted reflections on such terms as agnostic, envy, love, and sin, he invited us to look at theses everyday words in new and enlightening ways. Freshly revised and expanded for this edition, Wishful Thinking is a "beguiling" [Time] adventure in language for the restless believer, the doubter, and all who love words.

Learn to see God's remarkable works in the everyday ordinary of your life. Your remarkable life is happening right here, right now. You may not be able to see it--your life may seem predictable and your work insignificant until you look at your life as Frederick Buechner does. Named "the father of today's spiritual memoir movement" by Christianity Today, Frederick Buechner reveals how to stop, look, and listen to your life. He reflects on how both art and faith teach us how to pay attention to the remarkableness right in front of us, to watch for the greatness in the ordinary, and to use our imaginations to see the greatness in others and love them well. Pay attention, says Buechner. Listen to the call of a bird or the rush of the wind, to the people who flow in and out of your life. The ordinary points you to the extraordinary God who created and loves all of creation, including you. Pay attention to these things as if your life depends upon it. Because, of course, it does. As you learn to pay attention to your life and what God is doing in it, you will uncover the plot of your life's story and the sacred opportunity to connect with the Divine in each moment.

Four Unexpected Prophets Who Shine Light into the Darkness

A fresh, creative look at the underlying meaning of the Gospels that stresses the many dimensions of God's relationship to humanity.

Daily meditations taken from the works of an acclaimed novelist, essayist, and preacher who has articulated what he sees with a freshness and clarity and energy that hails our stultified imaginations.

Frederick Buechner buchstabiert die Grundworte unserer religiosen Sprache neu, und zwar auf eine so uberraschende, lebensnahe und witzige Weise, dass man nach der Lekture dieses religiosen ABC vieles anders sieht. Verstaubte oder gar verblichene Worte wie Gnade, Sunde und Rechtfertigung bekommen einen neuen Glanz, es wird deutlich, wie sehr die Kernworte des christlichen Glaubens auf Lebenserfahrungen bezogen sind. Wunschdenken ist ein Lexikon fur jene, bei denen Glauben und kritisches Denken zusammengehoren: Zweifel sind wie kribblige Ameisen in den Hosen. Sie sorgen dafur, dass dein Glaube wach und lebendig bleibt.. Ein Buch voller Witz und Weisheit, urteilte die New York Times Book Review, wach, geistvoll und unterhaltend, die Chicago Tribune. Wann war Theologie je so erhellend und amusant, so gut geschrieben und vergnuglich zu lesen?. Was genau bedeutet, das schlage man unter W nach. Will sagen: was ich denke und wunsche, dass es bedeutet a Frederick Buechner, Jahrgang 1926, Schriftsteller und Theologe, lebt in Vermont und Florida (USA). Er hat mit seinen Buchern in den Vereinigten Staaten grossen Erfolg gehabt, Schriftsteller wie John Irving beeinflusst, den National Book Award (1952), Critic's Choice Books Award (1990) und andere Ehrungen erhalten. Sein Roman Godric erhielt eine Nomination fur den Pulitzer Prize.

Frederick Buechner's Godric "retells the life of Godric of Finchale, a twelfth-century English holy man whose projects late in life included that of purifying his moral ambition of pride...Sin, spiritual yearning, rebirth, fierce asceticism--these hagiographic staples aren't easy to revitalize but Frederick Buechner goes at the task with intelligent intensity and a fine readiness to invent what history doesn't supply. He contrives a style of speech for his narrator--Godric himself--that's brisk and tough-sinewed...He avoids metaphysical fiddle, embedding his narrative in domestic reality--familiar affection, responsibilities, disasters...All on his own, Mr. Buechner has managed to reinvent projects of self-purification and of faith as piquant matter for contemporary fiction [in a book] notable for literary finish...Frederick Buechner is a very good writer indeed." -- Benjamin DeMott, The New York Times Book Review

"From the book's opening sentence...and sensible reader will be caught in Godric's grip...Godric glimmers brightly." -- Peter S. Prescott, Newsweek

"Godric is a memorable book...a marvelous gem of a book...destined to become a classic of its kind." -- Michael Heskett, Houston Chronicle

"In the extraordinary figure of Godric, both stubborn outsider and true child of God, both worldly and unworldly, Frederick Buechner has found an ideal means of exploring the nature of spirituality. Godric is a living battleground where God fights it out with the world, the Flesh, and the Devil." -- London Times Literary Supplement

"Wityh a poet's sensibly and a high reverent fancy, Frederick Buechner paints a memorable portrait." -- Edmund Fuller, The Wall Street Journal

In this second book of his popular lexical trilogy, Frederick Buechner profiles more than 125 of the Bible's most holy and profane people -- and one whale. In his lively and witty prose, Buechner brings to life such moments from scripture as:

• Adam's pangs of regret for a remembered Eden

• Delilah's last glimpse of Samson as they dragged him away

• Lazarus's first impressions upon rising from the dead

To read Peculiar Treasures is to realize that many of these legendary figures are not who we thought they were. But they are -- in their human dreams,ambitions, and imperfections -- very much like us.

With characteristic eloquence and insight, Buechner presents a three-part series of reflections that probe, through the course of one day, the innermost mysteries of life. Blending an artist's eye for natureal beauty, the true meaning of human encounters, and the significance of occurances (momentous or seemly trival), with a wealth of personal, literacy, biblical, and spiritual insights, he offers a matchless opportunity for readers to discover the hidden wisdom that can be gleaned through a heightened experience of daily life.

In these original essays, short stories, and poems, the beloved Frederick Buechner reflects on the moments of transcendence in the midst of his daily existence. In a myriad of commonplace activities, he finds the presence of the divine, and he elegantly describes these persons, events, and observations, nimbly transporting readers into these realities. With his masterly crafted prose, Buechner edifies, inspires, and offers a timeless model for approaching our human experience.

Awry and thought-provoking jaunt through the spiritual terrain of our everyday language -- a lexion of uncommon insight to jar the mind and nourish the soul. "I think of faith as a kind of whistling in the dark, because in much the same way," writes Buechner, "it helps to give us courage and to hold the shadows at bay."

When pain is real, why is God silent? Frederick Buechner has grappled with the nature of pain, grief, and grace ever since his father committed suicide when Buechner was a young boy. He continued that search as a father when his daughter struggled with anorexia. In this essential collection of essays, including one never before published, Frederick Buechner finds that the God who might seem so silent is ever near. He writes about what it means to be a steward of our pain, and about this grace from God that seems arbitrary and yet draws us to his holiness and care. Finally he writes about the magic of memory and how it can close up the old wounds with the memories of past goodnesses and graces from God. Here now are the best of Buechner's writings on pain and loss, covering such topics as the power of hidden secrets, loss of a dearly beloved, letting go, resurrection from the ruins, peace, and listening for the quiet voice of God. And he reveals that pain and sorrow can be a treasure-an amazing grace. Buechner says that loss will come to all of us, but he writes that we are not alone. Crazy and unreal as it may sometimes seem, God's holy, healing grace is always present and available if we are still enough to receive it.

Pulitzer Prize finalist Frederick Buechner's quartet of outrageously witty, inspirational Bebb novels in one volume.