In fiction, many stories offer easy optimism. They may touch on difficult real-life situations, but they shy away from anything that suggests there aren’t always happy endings or simple answers to life’s problems. In my experience, most readers do not trust these kinds of stories.

Many of the stories that remain with us long after we close the book share a common trait. They do not ignore suffering, yet they refuse to surrender to despair. They tell the truth about the darkness of life while still leaving space for grace. The kind of storytelling I am drawn to lives in that tension.