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Audiobook5 hours
A Place Called Hope: A Novel
Written by Philip Gulley
Narrated by Paul Bellantoni
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
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About this audiobook
When Quaker Pastor Sam Gardner is asked by the ill Unitarian minister to oversee a wedding in his place, Sam naturally agrees. It's not until the couple stands before him that he realizes they're two women. In the tempest of strong opinions and misunderstandings that follows the incident, Sam faces potential unemployment. Deeply discouraged, he wonders if his pastoral usefulness has come to an end. Perhaps it's time for a change. After all, his wife has found a new job at the library, his elder son is off to college, and the younger has decided to join the military once he graduates high school. Sam is contemplating a future selling used cars when he receives a call from a woman in the suburban town of Hope, Indiana. It seems Hope Friends Meeting is in desperate need of a pastor. Though they only have twelve members, they also have a beautiful meetinghouse and a pie committee (Sam is fond of pie). But can he really leave his beloved hometown of Harmony?
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Author
Philip Gulley
Philip Gulley is a Quaker minister, writer, husband, and father. He is the bestselling author of Front Porch Tales, the acclaimed Harmony series, and is coauthor of If Grace Is True and If God Is Love. Gulley lives with his wife and two sons in Indiana, and is a frequent speaker at churches, colleges, and retreat centers across the country.
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Reviews for A Place Called Hope
Rating: 3.8068181818181817 out of 5 stars
4/5
44 ratings7 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This was the first book about the Quaker pastor, Sam Gardner, that I've read. I really enjoyed it and the book has been passed on to several other people already. Anyone who attends a church of any denomination can appreciate the characters that Sam has to deal with at his small town Indiana meeting. This story has heart and plenty of laughs while managing to touch on some big topics without shoving an opinion down your throat. In the end, it's not about the religious views at all - in fact, if more people took the 'agree to disagree, but we'll still get along' stance that is promoted here, it would be a much nicer world! Gulley is a great storyteller and I will likely pick up more books in the series as they are published!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I've enjoyed Gulley's Christmas Scrapbook & every book in the Harmony series."HOPE" is a new series.Sam and Barbara leave Harmony and move to Hope.Still a Minister and still quirky people in the town.This book is still funny but also reflective of Sam's character.Delightfuly funny.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This book is a sequel to the "Harmony" series, where the Quaker minister, Sam Gardner, ends up moving from Harmony to Hope, Indiana. This is a very cute series about the ups & downs of being a minister and the many characters in his congregations. I especially like it because author Philip Gulley is really a Quaker minister who lives near Indianapolis, IN (close to my own home!). It is the 9th or 10th book in the series, however, it could easily be read as a stand alone. It is funny, entertaining, and heartwarming all at the same time. Can't wait for the next one to come out!
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Sam Gardiner is a Quaker preacher. He's timid, He's perfectly content to spend the rest of his life pastoring a meeting in his hometown of Harmony. When he inadvertently attends and prays for a newly wed couple as a favor for the sick Unitarian pastor, he creates an uproar as it is revealed that the couple is lesbian.As the furor builds, Sam retreats to lick his wounds. Now that their two sons have graduated from high school and left the nest, his wife Barbara takes a job as the assistant librarian in the town. Sam quits and finds that no other Quaker congretation will have him. Suddenly the Gardiners are at a crossroads in their lives. When the Quakers in Hope offer a position to Sam, he and Barbara jump at the chance to start anew. The congregation is tiny, the physical facilities are gorgeous and in spite of some trepidations, the couple is ready to move on. At this point, the author begins pulling more rabbits out of the hat, and the story spins off into fairyland.This is a sweet non pretentious book with a "happily ever after" feeling, in spite of the wimpy main character, and the delightful feistiness of his wife. It's a delightful read for an afternoon when the breeze is blowing, or the snow is falling, or the fog is rolling in. In short, when nothing will do but curling up with a non-controversial and heart-warming story. My copy included the first chapter of the next book in the series, and for fans of the Jan Karon Fr. Tim series, this one will be quite welcome.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This is a new series, following Quaker minister Sam Gardner and his family, who are familiar to Gulley’s fans from the Harmony Series. Sam and Barbara’s boys have both graduated high school and moved away (even if only temporarily), and the couple has moved to Hope, a suburb of “the city” where Sam will pastor a new meeting.I love Gulley’s Harmony series; I welcome a gentle read now and again, where I can visit with old friends. Gulley has a gift for writing humorous stories about small-town life, but instilling a message of tolerance, peace and love. There are times that Sam drives me crazy with his passivity and indecision, but then I don’t have to deal with the likes of Dale Hinshaw. I like that while Gulley gives us a somewhat idyllic situation, it is not without challenges. I love to hear a saxophone … but at 6:30 in the morning?! It’s the way that Sam and Barbara deal with such challenges that endears them to me. Here’s hoping that their adventures in Hope will continue to entertain and inspire for years to come.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Phillip Gulley’s A Place Called Hope is a joy to read. I missed out on all the Harmony series and now I regret it. Mr. Gulley is an expert storyteller. I come from Indiana and his stories ring true for me and make me homesick. He definitely picked the right name for the main character, Sam Gardner. I have Gardners in my family tree and they were Quakers. I did have a teacher in school with the same last name as one of the meanies in his book so that made me chuckle. I will not tell the last name! Mr. Gulley has a gift for humor and a talent for portraying the inner thoughts of a Quaker pastor and his wife.At the beginning of the book, Sam’s job is shaky because he agreed to help out a Unitarian minister who had the flu by helping with a wedding ceremony. Not until they walk up the aisle does he discover that they are gay. Indiana is a conservative state and has not legalized gay marriage. He was in a quandary about what to do. But when he looked into eyes of the two they had the same look as he and his wife did when they got married. The couple were handling the vows themselves so he decided to limit it to a prayer. However some of the elders did not see it that way. On the home front, his oldest son was going off to Purdue and the younger one decided that he wanted to join the military after graduation. Barbara Gardner, Sam’s wife was tired of staying at home so she applied for a library position and was really enjoying herself. But she also is feeling fed up with Sam’s trying to please others, lack of domestic skills and decisiveness. So things are really changing in this family but while reading it I still felt that the marriage would last and the children loved their parents. I felt right at home with Sam and Barbara and hooked for more books by Phillip Gulley.Although I received this book from the publishers as a win from FirstReads that in no way influenced my thoughts or feelings in this review.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Should have stopped with the original Harmony books. The tone of these books is as if written by a different person. Characters are not likable at all any more. It was not a pleasant read. If you truly want light-hearted and funny, read the Harmony books by the same author. Obviously he was at a better place in his life when he wrote them.