The Sky Beneath My Feet

by Lisa Samson

Overview

Being married to a saint isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Pastor’s wife Beth fears her marriage is over when her husband retreats to the backyard shed to await a sign from God as she is left to manage life with their two sons.

Beth’s husband won’t be joining the family on vacation at the beach this year. He’s not even joining them in the house. Instead, Rick has holed up alone in the backyard shed. Nobody knows exactly what he’s up to. Maybe he’s immersing himself in prayer. Maybe he’s lost his mind. Maybe he’s even the modern-day prophet or the saint the neighborhood artist imagines him to be. But while “St. Rick” waits for an epiphany, Beth will have to figure out what to do with herself and their teenage sons, possibly for the rest of her life.

What happens next is both uproarious and bittersweet: a peace march turns violent, her son is caught with drugs, and she embarks on an ambitious road trip that turns into something nearly surreal. Will Beth rediscover the idealistic woman she used to be, once upon a time? Can her marriage survive Rick’s backyard vigil? Will anything ever be the same? And should it be?

Truthful, comic, heartbreaking, and magical in the very best sense of the word, The Sky Beneath My Feet gently tears the veil off our egos and expectations to reveal the throbbing, redemptive, and achingly beautiful life beyond and within us.

• Thought-provoking contemporary standalone novel
• Book length: approximately 90,000 words
• Includes discussion questions for book clubs

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781595545459
Publisher:	Nelson, Thomas, Inc.
Publication date:	03/04/2013
Pages:	310
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Lisa Samson is the author of over twenty-five books, including the Christy award-winning novel Songbird. Her novel, Quaker Summer was Christianity Today's novel of 2008. She is coauthor with her husband, Will, of Justice in the Burbs.

Editorial Reviews

The staleness in Beth and Rick’s marriage becomes evident when Rick, a pastor, goes on retreat—inside the shed in their suburban backyard. While Rick disappears to seek God’s wisdom, Beth is in charge of the rest of their life, which includes two teenage sons who need guidance and her own nagging midlife doubts. The characters she encounters—peace activists, a streetwise nun who runs a shelter for teen girls—offer possibilities as Beth examines her own place in life. The crisis-of-faith premise is promising, but Samson’s usually lively imagination doesn’t do enough work. Many plot elements are more shorthand caricature than realized character: peace marchers, a women’s book club, a narrow-minded conservative Christian. To be sure, some of the minor characters are vintage Samson: the nun Mother Zaccheus is a gem. But the pieces don’t add up to a rich whole. Lots of people are concerned about their mission in life. But readers outside the evangelical Christian megachurch subculture may not crack the cover of a novel about a pastor, his wife, and their two kids in the suburbs. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

At the same time funny and meaningful, this is a beautiful gem. . . . The characters shine from the page with amazing insight and reminders about what’s important.

RT Book Reviews

"At the same time funny and meaningful, this is a beautiful gem. . . . The characters shine from the page with amazing insight and reminders about what's important."--RT Book Reviews, 4 1/2 stars, TOP PICK!

From the Publisher