When Cohen Marah steps over his father's body in the basement embalming room of the family's funeral home, he has no idea that he is stepping into a labyrinth of memory. As the last one to see his father, Cohen is the primary suspect. Over the next week, Cohen's childhood memories come back in living color. The dramatic events that led to his father being asked to leave his pastoral position. The game of baseball that somehow kept them together. And the two children in the forest who became his friends--and enlisted him in a dark and dangerous undertaking. As the lines blur between what was real and what was imaginary, Cohen is faced with the question he's been avoiding: Did he kill his father? In Light from Distant Stars, master story weaver Shawn Smucker relays a tale both eerie and enchanting, one that will have you questioning reality and reaching out for what is true, good, and genuine.

Light from Distant Stars: A Novel

Literature & Fiction

Shawn Smucker

United States

Revell

It was the summer of storms and strays and strangers. The summer that lightning struck the big oak tree in the front yard. The summer his mother died in a tragic accident. As he recalls the tumultuous events that launched a surprising journey, Samuel can still hardly believe it all happened. After his mother's death, twelve-year-old Samuel Chambers would do anything to bring her back. Prompted by three strange carnival fortune-tellers and the surfacing of his mysterious and reclusive neighbor, Sam begins his search for the Tree of Life--the only thing that could possibly bring his mother back. His quest to defeat death entangles him and his best friend Abra in an ancient conflict and forces Sam to grapple with an unwelcome question: could it be possible that death is a gift? Haunting and hypnotic, The Day the Angels Fell explores the difficult questions of life in a voice that is fresh, friendly, and unafraid. With this powerful story, Shawn Smucker has carved out a spot for himself in the tradition of authors Madeleine L'Engle and Lois Lowry.

The Day the Angels Fell

Teen & Young Adult

Before Dan opened his door to find a wounded woman who had escaped from the tormentors in the mountain, his life had become rather quiet. He and the eight other people in the mostly abandoned town had become friends. They spent peaceful evenings around the campfire and even made vague plans to journey east one day and leave the ominous mountain behind. But the woman's arrival changes everything. Who is she? How does she know so much about Dan's brother, who is still held captive in the mountain? Why are long-forgotten memories rising to the surface? And why does Dan feel so compelled to keep her presence in his house a secret? Visionary writer Shawn Smucker is back with an unsettling story that invites us to consider two challenging questions: To what lengths will we go to assuage our own guilt? and Is there a limit to the things we will do for the people we love?

These Nameless Things

Genre Fiction

Weight of Memory

Product Description 
"Smucker crafts beautiful sentences and haunting characters that immerse readers in a world where anything is possible but not everything is real. Recommended for fans of Ted Dekker or Tosca Lee."-- 
Library Journal 
***\nWhen Paul Elias receives a terminal diagnosis, he leaves his physician's office in a fog. Only one thing is clear to him: if he is going to die, he must find someone to watch over his granddaughter, Pearl, who has been in his charge since her drug-addicted father disappeared. Paul decides to take her back to Nysa--both the place where he grew up and the place where he lost his beloved wife under strange circumstances forty years earlier.\nBut when he picks up Pearl from school, the little girl already seems to know of his plans, claiming a woman told her.\nIn Nysa, Paul reconnects with an old friend but is not prepared for the onslaught of memory. And when Pearl starts vanishing at night and returning with increasingly bizarre tales, Paul begins to question her sanity, his own views on death, and the nature of reality itself.\nIn this suspenseful and introspective story from award-winning author Shawn Smucker, the past and the present mingle like opposing breezes, teasing out the truth about life, death, and sacrifice.\n"A resonant allegory about forgiveness and faith. Fans of James Rubart will want to take a look."-- 
Publishers Weekly 
 From the Back Cover 
Memories are never truly forgotten.They are simply waiting to be remembered. 
When Paul Elias receives a terminal diagnosis, only one thing is clear to him: if he is going to die, he must find someone to watch over his granddaughter, Pearl, who has been in his charge since her drug-addicted father disappeared. Paul decides to take her to Nysa--both the place where he grew up and the place where he lost his beloved wife under strange circumstances forty years earlier.\nPaul reconnects with an old friend but is not prepared for the onslaught of memory. And when Pearl starts vanishing at night and returning with increasingly bizarre tales, Paul begins to question her sanity, his own views on death, and the nature of reality itself.\nIn this mesmerizing story from award-winning author Shawn Smucker, past and present mingle like opposing breezes, teasing out the truth about life, death, and sacrifice. 
 About the Author 
Shawn Smucker is the award-winning author of 
Light from Distant Stars and 
These Nameless Things, the young adult novels 
The Day the Angels Fell and 
The Edge of Over There, and the memoir 
Once We Were Strangers. He lives with his wife and six children in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. You can find him online at www.shawnsmucker.com.

The Weight of Memory

Long-Expected Jesus invites the people of God to spend four weeks slowing down, waiting patiently, and praying expectantly in anticipation of our coming Savior.

Long-Expected Jesus: An Advent Devotional

Religion & Spirituality

Jeren Rowell

Mark Fuller

Carla D. Sunberg

Jesse C. Middendorf

Timothy R. Gaines

Brett Rickey

Brooklyn Lindsey

Shawna Songer Gaines

Jake, Edwards

Robbie Cansler

Michael R. Palmer

Dana Bowman

Jason McPherson

Deanna Hayden

Melanie Haney

Brit Bolerjack

Christian Books & Bibles

The Foundry Publishing

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Books by Shawn Smucker