A Gathering in Hope

By Philip Gulley. Center Street, 2016. 258 pages. $24/hardcover; $14.99/paperback; $9.99/eBook.

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I had the pleasure of hearing Phil Gulley offer a plenary talk at my yearly meeting’s annual session a few years ago. And yes, he included stories! This prolific Quaker pastor and storyteller has been at work again, peopling his latest novel with the members of Hope Friends Meeting and some animal brethren. This time, Hope’s Quakers are tested in a new way: how can they carry out a goal that’s exciting and good for them, and at the same time be respectful of the needs of others? When the others are an endangered type of bat, the conundrum takes on real-life dimensions. It is a lovely treat to wrap a difficult situation in the gentle and warm humor of Phil Gulley.