A Book Proposal Template
A Sample Book Proposal to Pitch to Literary Agents
This is me, paying forward David Sanford’s gift of sharing his book proposal template with zero strings attached. Free. No newsletter sign up required. I’m gifting this to you because I want to make your path toward success as easy as possible. Using this proposal as a template does not come with the promise of publication or audience with a literary agent. This is simply a tool to help you format your own thoughts regarding what is required of authors for a book proposal.
If you want to say thank you, you could say thanks by connecting with me on social media. I wish you the very best!
COVER LETTER
Agent Name
Agency
Agent Email
Samantha Evans Tschritter
Address
authorlovesamevans@gmail.com
Date
Dear [Agent Name],
I’m honored to present this proposal to you and awestruck that [our mutual friend] believes in this project enough to connect us.
Rather than adjusting the pulpit mike one October Sunday, Pastor Clint woke up in the hospital to a .24 Blood-Alcohol-Content, a cancer diagnosis, and an arrest for a felony charge of fleeing police after a drunk-driving rampage. The Prodigal’s Son: Crackhead to Jesus Freak chronicles one man’s lifelong battle against demons, addictions, and unworthiness and portrays God’s backlash of grace toward a man whom others branded “unredeemable.”
Twenty-three million Americans struggle with substance abuse and 46% of Americans have a family member or close friend who battles addiction. In a culture of socially-expected drinking and an institutional church crumbling with irrelevance, The Prodigal’s Son levels the playing field between sinners and saints, and challenges readers to stare at their reflection with candor.
This book is for liberal Christians, and those disenchanted with and disenfranchised from the Church, who crave an authentic spirituality. Clint’s hospitality flings church doors open to the world’s ragamuffins and challenges pew-squater saints to stop measuring their godly perfection against the dirty, homeless and addicted. From gutter to pulpit to ditch to grace to grave, The Prodigal’s Son speaks volumes a God who, with furious love, crawls into the darkest corners of humanity and redeems those who believe they aren’t worth saving.
United Methodist pastor Clint Evans died a pastor and a felon, the embodiment of every sinner saved by grace. Nearly 500 people attended his memorial service, including 120 robed clergy, 50 football players in their jerseys, and a woman wearing a T-shirt depicting the pope on a bicycle. The sermon, entitled “The Prodigal’s Son,” warranted a standing ovation.
Thousands of lives will change when this book is published. I look forward to hearing if you believe this book has a place in the general market. [Agent] , thank you for sharing your time with me.
Sincerely,
Samantha Evans Tschritter (Shridder)
A BOOK PROPOSAL
THE PRODIGAL’S SON
April 2, 2025
Submitted by
Samantha Evans Tschritter
Address
Mobile:
Email: authorlovesamevans@gmail.com
Overview
Premise:
Twenty-three million Americans suffer from addiction and approximately two million are in recovery. In addition, many people who battle the demon of Good Enough fail to see the church’s relevance in overcoming their shame. People craving freedom from addiction and authentic spirituality will discover hope within the pages of The Prodigal’s Son: Crackhead to Jesus Freak.
Unique Selling Proposition
Eighty-four percent of scientific studies conclude a positive correlation between faith and recovery. The Prodigal’s Son illustrates this correlation on multiple fronts.
1.) Clint breaks free from addiction. Readers will ask, “But how?” Because few addicts escape addiction’s snare. Readers will receive hope that freedom from addiction and shame are possible.
2.) Clint leads a successful life. Not only did God untangle Clint from addiction, God filled Clint’s life is filled with family, friends, and a successful career, demonstrating to readers that a full, prosperous life is achievable for former addicts.
3.) Most importantly, The Prodigal’s Son reveals true acceptance for people who feel dirty or unworthy. Shame and addiction cause people to hide. If you see the real me, you won’t love me anymore. Clint’s relapse led to a public, humiliating fall from grace. And his churches begged for his reinstatement. Readers will witness love and grace in the midst of failure.
Additional Reader Benefits:
Provides relief to anyone who’s battaled self-loathing, felt unlovable, or doubted God’s love for them.
Challenges conservative Christians to examine their capacity for grace
Enlightens non-addicts to the inner battles an addict faces
Brings home the message, whether addict or not, “You are not beyond redemption.”
Manuscript Overview
The manuscript is divided into three distinct parts:
I. Thirty-six-year-old pastor Clint Evans wakes up Sunday morning in the hospital to a cancer diagnosis, a felony charge of fleeing police, and an arrest.
II. Clint’s wife Sam visits her husband in jail. The Evans family, ensconced in survival mode, scrambles to extinguish metaphorical fires. Clint reveals moments from his past—an ADHD diagnosis his parents didn’t know how to handle, bullying in school, an abusive babysitter, the cruelty of a teacher, fist fights and high school expulsion—that led to his shame and alcohol use. By the age of nineteen, Clint is an alcoholic and crack addict. In order to support his habit, he steals from department stores, grocery stores and people who love him. Following a drunk driving accident, Clint is court-ordered to Minnesota Teen Challenge where he describes God “knocking him upside the head with a 2 x 4.” When he meets Sam, he has been sober for nearly a year, but relapses into alcohol months after their marriage.
III. The narrative follows the timeline from past toward the present. After the relapse, Sam threatens divorce, but a strange spiritual occurrence saves the marriage. Fighting fear based on his academic history, Clint enrolls in college at the age of twenty-six and graduates with Magna Cum Laude honors. While ministering to men at Teen Challenge and at-risk teens who attend his church’s youth group, Clint feels called to pastoral ministry. When a boy in the community kills himself, the principal asks teens at the school who they’d like to call for moral support. The teens ask for Clint. The Minnesota United Methodist Church offers Clint a pastoral position in Southern Minnesota Here, the timeline catches up to the present and shows Clint’s fall—his relapse into alcohol. Clint accomplishes powerful outreach and professional success, all the while battling demons of Imposter Syndrome, shame, and loneliness.
IV. Following a grueling meeting in which several church members spew venomous insults at Clint, while others humbly offer grace, Clint is reinstated to pastoral ministry. “Red Devil” chemo treatments cause incredible nausea and fatigue leading up to Clint’s first Sunday behind the pulpit. The court convicts Clint of the felony charge of fleeing police with a pending “stay of adjudication,” meaning, if no extra charges are filed within a three-year time period, the felony charge will disappear from his record. Later the court shortens the stay of adjudication to two years, to be completed in August of 2019. Clint continues serving in full-time pastoral ministry through all of 2018 and into 2019. Clint grows weaker, but determined to live life to the fullest, he brings Sam and their three young children to Disney World. During the 2019 Ash Wednesday service, as his wife Sam rubs ash on his forehead and says, “From dust you were created, to dust you shall return,” she is shocked by how cold his forehead feels.
V. During Holy Week, the week prior to Easter on the church calendar, Clint attempts to lead a Maundy Thursday service. Church members call 9-1-1 when Clint struggles to breathe and complains of chest pain. The first Sunday of June 2019, Clint is placed on medical leave. Ten days later, he enters the hospital for the final time, and passes away thirteen days later. Clint dies five weeks shy of the completion of his stay of adjudication, which would have erased the felony from his record. Nearly 500 people attended his memorial service, including 120 robed clergy and 50 roughneck football players in their jerseys. Also in attendance was one woman Clint dubbed his “favorite living Catholic” wearing a T-shirt that depicted the pope on a bicycle. The sermon at Clint’s service, entitled “The Prodigal’s Son,” was worthy of a standing ovation. While Clint is in the hospital, a farewell letter he’d written to the community is published in the local paper. The online version was shared seventy-seven times—at last count. This article, entitled, “Love One Another,” is the conclusion of The Prodigal’s Son.
Manuscript Details
Manuscript Status: Complete
Special Features: Each chapter includes a letter written to Clint. The story is told from both Clint’s POV and his wife’s POV, portraying the struggle of addiction from both the addict and a family member.
Manuscript length: 91K words
One Paragraph Summary
Clint Evans’s mugshot, flashed onto television screens throughout Minnesota. “United Methodist Pastor Arrested for Drunk Driving.” The news, however, wasn’t privy to details that amplified the tragedy. On a Sunday morning, when Pastor Clint Evans should have been preaching, he woke up in the hospital with a BAC of .24, a felony charge for fleeing police, and a cancer diagnosis. Written in a creative non-fiction style that will attract both nonfiction and fiction readers, The Prodigal’s Son: Crackhead to Jesus Freak depicts the life of a boy branded “unredeemable” by the adults around him who became a man both sinners and saints wanted near them. This book reveals the internal struggles of a man who battled self-loathing, shame, and addiction, and who, weeks prior to his death uttered to his wife, “I think I finally love myself.” Clint Evans, with forearm tattoos that spelled “Prodigal Son,” died a pastor and a felon, the embodiment of every sinner saved by grace.
Proposed Back Cover Hook
“There’s been an accident.”
Proposed Back Cover Copy
At 1:30 a.m. Samantha Evans received the phone call every spouse dreads. “Mrs. Evans, this is Sergeant Reid with the police department. There’s been an accident.” Six hours later, she received another call. “Mrs. Evans, I’m calling from the hospital. We found something on the CT scan.”
Instead of preaching that Sunday, Pastor Clint Evans went to jail with a BAC of .24, a cancer diagnosis, and a felony charge of fleeing police. The Prodigal’s Son: Crackhead to Jesus Freak chronicles a Christian’s lifelong battle against demons, addictions, and unworthiness. This story portrays God’s backlash of grace toward a man whom others branded “unredeemable.”
The Prodigal’s Son flings church doors open wide to the world’s ragamuffins and challenges pew-squater saints to stop measuring their godly perfection against the dirty, homeless and addicted. From gutter to pulpit to ditch to grace to grave, The Prodigal’s Son speaks volumes of a God who crawls into the darkest corners of humanity and redeems those who believe they aren’t worth saving.
Interviews to Enhance the Manuscript’s Credibility Include: (Not Necessary to Include)
· Six hours of audio interviews with Clint Evans
· Clint’s intake officer at the county jail
· A pastor who visited Clint while he was on suicide watch
· A church member present when the congregation stopped mid-service to call 9-1-1 for Clint
· A heroin addict
· Clint’s co-worker at a drug rehab facility
· The man (then teen) whose fight with Clint led to Clint’s high school expulsion
· Clint’s closest friend from high school
· Clint’s brother
· A football teammate
· A football coach
Profile of Audience, Nicknamed “Paul Simon”
(Not the “normal” way to describe audience)
Paul Simon is anyone who has ever uttered the words, “I am a piece of garbage.” He believes he isn’t good enough, or suspects he might not be, and measures himself against an intangible line of his own creation. Coping with the Good Enough Demon presents itself differently. Paul might be an addict, an over-eater, a workaholic, a fitness fanatic, a mom over-involved in extracurriculars, a rights activist, or a couch potato who binges Hulu at the end of an exhausting workday.
Paul considers himself a Christian, but confesses this with hesitancy. Church is reminiscent of the past, a long-lost friend he no longer feels connected to. Something about church makes Paul skittish —a church wound, skepticism of theology, disappointment regarding the church’s relevance to his daily life, or frustration toward the hypocrites and fakes he sees sitting in the pews.
Paul is both male and female, approximately ages late 20’s to early 60’s, and spends most of his social media time on Tiktok, Youtube, or Instagram. He resonates with edgy, authentic influencers such as Kevin Lawson, John B. Christ, and possibly Kelly K Ministries, who intermix their faith into the hilarious stories they share.
Paul listens to trending artists such as Jelly Roll, Brantly Gilbert, Katy Perry and Kelly Clarkson, who sing about overcoming addictions and trials. Jelly Roll songs such as “Hard Fought Hallelujah” and “Winning Streak” cause Paul to miss church, while Hozier’s “Take Me To Church” reminds him why he left.
He might be single, or married with children. Either way, Paul won’t waste time with disingenuous relationships. Trust comes hard for Paul because too many people have disappointed him. He craves more fulfillment in his life but doesn’t possess the energy or the knowledge to change. Paul knows there’s more to life than he sees, and wishes there was more to God than the church suggests.
Current Interest and Marketability
Authenticity
With a current age range of 20’s to mid-40’s, Gen Z and Millennials represent the median of the book’s target market. In 2023, Merriam-Webster noted an increased search percentage for the word “authentic.” More than ever, these generations crave brands they can trust and genuine relationships. Their skepticism of institutions and their desire for mentors to walk alongside them rather than preach at them repel them from traditional church institutions.
The Prodigal’s Son forms the missing piece—the bridge between the church’s growing irrelevance and people’s desire for an authentic relationship with God and those around them.
Addiction and Addiction Recovery
Almost any adult can name five celebrities who died of overdose and five more who have battled addiction. Eminem, fifteen years sober, said, “I thought it was a sign of weakness to have an addiction. I didn’t even want to believe it was a disease. But I realized it when I f—ing almost died and then I still went back to using it. I literally almost died.”
Selma Blair got drunk for the first time at the age of 7. “I don't know if I would've survived childhood without alcoholism. That's why it's such a problem for a lot of people. It really is a huge comfort, a huge relief in the beginning." Elton John said, "I hated myself so much. I was consumed with shame. All I wanted to do was get well.”
Some 23 million Americans suffer from addiction. About 2 million of them are in recovery. There are, it seems, an infinite number of addiction-recovery related blogs, podcasts, websites, organizations and Google searches regarding hope for addiction recovery. People craving authenticity and freedom from addiction will discover hope within the pages of The Prodigal’s Son: Crackhead to Jesus Freak.
Comparable Works
Never disparage other writers’ books when comparing your work!
1.) Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir, Matthew Perry, Macmillan Publisher, June 25, 2024
a. One review states, “It’s a raw, brutally honest, and often heartbreaking journey through addiction, fame, and recovery. Perry writes with self-awareness and surprising humor, even in the darkest moments. He doesn’t sugarcoat anything, and that’s what makes it so powerful.” And another, “You’ll come away with, maybe a little more empathy for anyone fighting a battle you can’t see.” The Prodigal’s Son was written with the same style—and the same end-result in mind.
2.) Loving Sobriety: A Real Journey from Alcoholism, Addiction and Denial to Recovery, Contentment and Joy through the Twelve Steps and Sober Living Miracles, R.J. Boots, Storyline Vision Media LLC, 2023
a. Boots shares his addiction recovery story in a conversational manner similar to the feel of The Prodigal’s Son.
3.) From Junkie to Judge: One Woman's Triumph Over Trauma and Addiction, Mary Beth O’Connor, Simon & Schuster, January 24, 2023
a. Mary O’Connor, a self-proclaimed atheist, started her life as an orphan, turned to substances as a coping mechanism, and overcame her addictions to become a successful judge.
4.) High Achiever: The Incredible True Story of One Addict's Double Life, Tiffany Jenkins, Harmony/Rodale/Convergent, June 18, 2019
a. Tiffany writes in a creative non-fiction style about her addiction, crimes, and road to recovery.
5.) The Recovering, Leslie Jamison, Hachette Book Group, 2019
a. The Recovering is a collaboration of Jamison and others’ perspectives of their recovery journeys. Jamison brings into the conversation elements of race and class—and their effects on addiction.
Similar to the titles above, The Prodigal’s Son depicts circumstances that led to addiction, crimes committed while addicted, and a journey toward recovery and success.
The most significant difference between The Prodigal’s Son and the above titles is the absent spiritual element (with the exception of Perry’s memoir). Clint’s faith, woven throughout The Prodigal’s Son, shapes his view of God. This relationship, critical to his story, impacts his view of himself and his desire to love the people around him.
Another significant difference that sets The Prodigal’s Son apart from the books above is the cancer diagnosis, which acts as an additional antagonist and places a time constraint on Clint’s redemption story.
6.) Save Me from Myself: How I Found God, Quit Korn, Kicked Drugs, and Lived to Tell My Story, Brian Head Welch, HarperCollins, June 24, 2008
a. Brian Head Welch, former member of the band Korn, is the most alike to the Prodigal’s Son in that Welch’s story describes how encountering God spares him from his addictive cycle. However, this book was written seventeen years ago.
Each of these six comparative works, to date, have a high sales margin. I believe The Prodigal’s Son will sidle up right alongside these titles, answering to a specific need that has gone largely unmet in both the Christian and general market. As shown by sales, buyers are craving authentic stories of recovery from addiction, faith struggles, and God’s role in victory.
The best-selling titles for addiction and recovery don’t have another The Prodigal’s Son: Crack head to Jesus Freak. This is a pastor telling Christians “addiction snatches both sinners and saints, and breaking free is not as simple as ‘just.’”
What Beta Readers Are Saying:
(Not Necessary to Include)
“Reads like a screenplay.” (A male, middle-aged English teacher and father)
“I’m on chapter 17 and this one stopped me in my tracks: ‘Jesus doesn’t say so, but the prodigal son in Luke 15 bawled his eyes out. I know, because you can’t go from your darkest place into the safest rest of the greatest love without breaking in between.’ Seventeen times. I cried at least seventeen times. Laughed out loud three. Sam, this book is amazing. Who is this book for? Anyone, everyone! Me!” (A mom who struggles with depression and whose husband battles a porn addiction.)
“What a unique account of the faithfulness of God up until a man’s final moments, and the faithfulness of a wife walking in grace through the trials of addiction and terminal illness!”
“Without being preachy in any way, this book caused me to examine my own alcohol use,” (A male Millennial)
“Binge-read the entire thing! I’m not spiritual at all, and this book did not feel preachy.” –Middle-aged mother, high school teacher
Potential Endorsements
List as many people as you can here
Name, connection to you, sphere of influence
Why Samantha Evans Tschritter is the best possible candidate to share this story:
Tschritter, an author prior to Clint’s relapse, is the widow of Pastor Clint Evans. Tschritter interviewed her own husband in a professional capacity and collected over six hours of audio content. The Prodigal’s Son: Crack Head to Jesus Freak depicts not just the addict’s road to recovery, but his wife’s inner battles of forgiveness. If Clint is the prodigal son, then Tschritter is the judgmental, condescending elder brother. The Prodigal’s Son reveals Tschritter’s transformation of grace toward addicts as she witnesses, in her own home, the ongoing battle to remain sober.
Education:
University of Northwestern—St. Paul 2003
Degrees in Biblical Studies and Youth Ministry
Continuing Education:
· Blue Ridge Christian Writer’s Conference, 2023-2025
· Carolina Christian Writer’s Conference, 2025
· Upstate ACFW Writer’s Conference, 2024
· Attended DeeAnn Gist’s Master Writing Class (January 2022)
· Participated in a fiction intensive led by Tim Shoemaker at Colorado Christian Writer’s Conference (2018)
· Colorado Christian Writer’s Conference, 2017- 2018
· Good Catch Publishing Writer Bootcamp, 2017
Published Books:
April 1, 2025, Until the Day We Meet Again: A Miscarriage Journal
June 2024, She Told Them They Were Loved
August 2022, Love Letters to Miscarriage Moms
2019, Adventure Devos: Youth Version
2019, Adventure Devos: Women’s Version
2018, Adventure Devos: Men’s Edition
Sales Numbers
If it helps your cause, list previous books’ sales numbers
Credits, Awards, Publications
2023 Golden Scroll Christian Book of the Year, 2nd place, for Love Letters to Miscarriage Moms
2023 International Book Award Finalist, Women’s Issues
2023 International Book Awards Finalist, Best Interior Design
March 2019, Good Catch Publishing, Story of the Month
April 2019, Good Catch Publishing, Story of the Month
May 2019, Good Catch Publishing Book of the Year
2015-2017, 2020-2021, Five-time NaNoWriMo winner
Professional Credentials
Ø Numerous TV, radio and podcast interviews.
Ø Contracted by Dayspring (through Peachtree Publishing) to write 55 Devotions Inspired by Fearless Women in History (August 2021)
Ø Contributed to two Day Spring Sweet Tea for the Soul Anthologies (2020 and 2021)
Ø Contributed 22 creative non-fiction stories to 19 books with Good Catch Publishing (GCP), September 2017-February 2019 (Tschritter interviewed more than a dozen former addicts for these stories)
Ø Invited as the keynote speaker at an infant loss memorial service in Lubbock, TX, 2016. https://fb.watch/sIflGKYIvB/
Ø Faculty for Carolina Christian Writer’s Conference March 2026
Faculty for Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference May 2026
Relevant Skills
Tschritter:
· Seeks advice from other professionals in all aspects of the publishing world
· Designed and maintains her own website, LoveSamEvans.com
· Created her own lead magnet (She Told Them They Were Loved) and works daily to promote the books already published
· Is self-motivated, confident, and driven
· Knows the value of building up other professionals rather than drawing unhelpful comparisons
· Produces all of her own social media content
· Blogs/ sends newsletters
Personal Information
Multi-award-winning author S. E. Tschritter (pronounced Shridder) specializes in articulating grief and loss, leading grievers toward hope and healing. Whether poetry, fiction, or non-fiction, Tschritter writes content that will stick with readers long after they close the cover. Her 20-plus years of leadership experience and contributions to over 40 books enable her to serve others, speaking truth with transparency, humor, and love.
Tschritter grew up in Chicagoland and has also lived in Minnesota and Oregon, granting her widespread views of people all over the country. She currently resides in Simpsonville, South Carolina with her husband, their three teen and preteen daughters, cats named Pitter and Patter, and their Siberian husky whom she lost the vote to name Onomatopoeia. Nothing refreshes Tschritter’s soul like gardening. She gardens to work through plot holes, writer’s block, character development, book ideas, and the perfect wording for the “personal information” section of her book proposals. Tschritter spends a great deal of time gardening.
Promotional Skills/ Marketing
Currently, all of Tschritter’s social media efforts funnel viewers to
a.) Tschritter’s newsletter,
b.) Links to purchase books, or
c.) Her newest @Miscarriage_Unedited Youtube channel
Defined Her Brand:
· The Grief Advocate: Unedited
· Slogans:
o Speaking Truth with Transparency, Humor and Love
o She Told Them They Were Loved
o Tell Them. ™ (They are Loved.)
Chamber of Commerce
· The Simpsonville, SC chamber of Commerce provides a welcome bag to each new family who moves to the area, and the Greenville, SC area is booming. Chamber members are invited to provide swag for inside these bags. Tschritter provided the chamber with 2,000 bookmarks to promote her Miscarriage Support content, and plans to offer a similar gift following the publication of her Addiction Support content
· Monthly Women-In-Network Meetings and After-Hours Business gatherings offer unique opportunities to promote products and services to local business owners.
· Booths and marketing opportunities are available for purchase at events such as a Halloween Trick-or-Treating, Sip and Serve, and the Christmas Parade
· Online advertising
· Advertisement opportunities in the Simpsonville directory
· Name, website link, photo, and bio listed on the Chamber of Commerce website
· Opportunity to post “Hot Deals” to offer a free book with newsletter sign up
Other Links:
Future plans include:
· Speaking on podcasts .
· Selling “Tell them.” ™ gear on Shopify: notebooks, T-shirts, hoodies, bracelets, key chains, stickers
· Distribute bookmarks with name, book title, inspirational quote and QR code to join newsletter at vendor shows, speaking engagements, and book signings
· Bookmarks included with book purchases encourage readers to leave an honest review
· Brochures and flyers are displayed inside of the Simpsonville, SC Chamber of Commerce
Marketing Strategies Specific to The Prodigal’s Son
Youtube videos
IG and Tiktok reels
Contact Teen Challenge MN and Teen Challenge in the Willamette Valley, Oregon
Contact the MN United Methodist Church
Publish Prayers Against Addiction: Praying for your addict where the needle pierces skin as a lead magnet
Print one-sheets with the book’s summary and pass them out in downtown Greenville.
Place bookmarks encouraging readers to leave reviews within the books
Pass bookmarks out to people interested in the story
Closing Thoughts
Samantha Evans Tschritter is what Henri Nouwen refers to as “a wounded healer,” helping others heal from her own scars, including divorced parents, three miscarriages, a physical disability, and the death of her pastor-husband of 15 years. Her mild cerebral palsy diagnosis requires her to type with only her left hand. And God said, “I’m gonna make her a writer.” Tschritter’s struggles enhance her prose—both fiction and non-fiction, drawing on real life emotions and battles.
Someone said, “Sam, normal people don’t write books for fun.” By then, Amazon’s Author Central attributed seven books to S. E. Tschritter’s profile. That’s when she realized, I didn’t just think it’d be “neat” to write a book. I’m an author—and a darn good one.
Writing God-honoring prose should mean holding the content and the craft to a higher standard. Tschritter has many books in her and desires to work with an agent who will advocate for the recognition and platform her writing deserves. The quality of her prose will give publishers the newest best-seller they’ve been searching for. Tschritter strongly desires to create stories teens and adults will ruminate on long after they’ve closed the cover.
Contact Information:
Samantha Evans Tschritter
Phone
Chapter Synopsis
Part One
Chapter One
Sam’s Point of View (SPOV): The main character is missing. When he left that morning for football practice, Pastor Clint Evans told his wife he’d be home by 6 p.m. At 11 p.m., his wife Sam still could not get a hold of him. Then, at 1:30 a.m., her phone rang. “Mrs. Evans. There’s been an accident.” The officer tells Sam Clint is at the hospital, but will be arrested upon release. Six hours later, Sam’s phone rang again. “Mrs. Evans, this is a nurse from the hospital. We found something on the cat scan.”
Chapter Two
Clint’s Point of View (CPOV): Clint wakes up in the hospital on a Sunday morning, mortified that congregation members are filing into pews to hear a sermon he won’t be there to preach. His wife is too furious to speak. She’d reminded him throughout the years of their marriage that if he ever relapsed again, she would end their marriage. The thought of losing his wife and children makes Clint nauseous. Then the doctor enters the room and shows Clint and Sam what he suspects is cancer, Stage IV. An officer arrives to arrest Clint and drives him to the county jail.
Chapter Three
SPOV: After Clint’s booking, Sam follows the arresting officer to the impound lot to retrieve possessions from their vehicle. Sam is shocked by the sight of the totaled car and the blood smear on both the interior and exterior of the vehicle. Her heart breaks when she sees empty alcohol bottles on the passenger seat floor beside a brochure for a spiritual retreat.
Chapter Four
CPOV: Clint flashes back to first grade, when he feels inadequate and fabricates a lie to fit in. His fictitious background earns Clint an invitation to the playground’s fight club. One of the fist fights leads to a suspension. His misunderstood ADHD, in addition to the fighting, earns Clint a reputation with teachers as a troublemaker.
Chapter Five
CPOV: Clint is admitted to jail, battles mental demons and is placed on suicide watch. A correctional officer calls her pastor to visit Clint. Clint is shocked and embarrassed to discover the pastor called by the correctional officer is his close friend. Because jail visiting hours don’t apply to clergy, Clint receives a second pastoral visit from another friend. At the initial hearing, Clint is surprised by legal representation familiar with his case and wonders how the lawyer acquired so much knowledge.
Part Two
Chapter Six
SPOV: The day of Clint’s arrest, embarrassment roils through Sam when she learns that the county jail roster is posted online. Rumors and venomous comments spread faster than she could have dreamed. While she copes with shock, and what feels like a visible, spiritual war, friends encourage her, saying, “You are not alone in this.” The church’s council president, and a retired prosecuting attorney of thirty-seven years, explains what Clint faces regarding legal charges. He promises to call a defense attorney who “even beat me a few times,” he tells Sam.
Chapter Seven
CPOV: Clint flashes back to verbal and physical abuse he endured from a babysitter at the age of 9. The mistreatment continued for over a year before he finally told his mom. While he and his brothers never returned to “Cruella DeVille,” she’d already inflicted long-lasting damage on Clint’s self-esteem.
Chapter Eight
SPOV: The day after the arrest, Sam visits her husband in jail and, on the visitor log, sees that Nip, the retired prosecutor had already visited Clint. She judges the appearance of other inmates’ family members and realizes that she is in the same place at the same time for the same reason. Sam is struck by the bruises and abrasions on Clint’s face, paralleled by the brokenness of his spirit. She returns home from jail and finds that her mother-in-law rearranged and redecorated the entire main level of her home.
Chapter Nine
CPOV: Clint recalls his ninth grade and his parents’ disfunction. His dad repeatedly called Clint a loser, and each time they moved from one apartment to another, Clint’s mom blamed him. Rather than words of encouragement to combat Clint’s shame, his parents’ verbal assaults added to his growing self-hatred. While shooting hoops by himself, two gang members pick a fight with Clint. He wins the fight and determines that no one will ever mess with him again. In tenth grade, Clint tries to behave and get good grades. However, without much-needed support, he burns out, falls into old habits, and solidifies the fear within him that he is worthless.
Chapter Ten
SPOV: When Sam arrives at the courthouse for Clint’s hearing, eight church members greet her, including Nip. While Sam is terrified out of her skin, Nip and the judge carry on a casual conversation about fishing, from opposite ends of the room. Sam notices that while there are nearly two dozen inmates, there are less than twenty friends and family members sitting in support of the inmates—and Clint’s crew represented nine of them. Abnormal, yet positive conversations about Clint take place between the judge, the prosecution, and the defense, leaving Sam baffled. Later, Clint’s defense lawyer describes the courtroom as “being smitten with Mr. Evans,” and declares he’d “never seen anything like it.”
Chapter Eleven
SPOV: Sam lives within the collateral fallout of Clint’s choice. People in restaurants stop speaking when she enters. She was replaced as the speaker for an event she’d been looking forward to. Sam juxtaposes her professional and emotional cost with others’ declaration that “at least the accident saved Clint’s life,” and the positive spin they put on the choice that ripped her heart apart.
Chapter Twelve
CPOV: During Clint’s high school Driver’s Ed. Class, Clint makes a small mistake. His teacher calls him an idiot and a fucking moron—through a loudspeaker, in front of the whole class. So instead of driving the course at 30 mph, Clint takes the track at 70 mph. His dad takes the teacher’s side without hearing Clint’s version of the story. That same year, Clint is arrested for underage smoking and steals $600 from a woman’s purse. Clint’s mom figures it out and makes him give her the money.
Chapter Thirteen
SPOV: One month after the accident, Sam’s stress comes to a boiling point. Clint tells her that her anger is out of control, which only makes her madder.
Chapter Fourteen
CPOV: In high school Clint gets into four fist fights within two weeks, earning him a broken hand and school expulsion. One of the kids apologizes to Clint afterwards, validating his feelings.
Chapter Fifteen
CPOV: Clint recalls moments of joy from his childhood that prevented him from giving up completely. At one point, Clint is convinced that he hears God telling him to finish high school.
Chapter Sixteen
CPOV: Post high school graduation, as the life of the party, Clint recognized that when the drugs disappeared, so did his friends. He craved escape and enlisted in the army, hoping to restore honor to his family. The night before leaving for Basic, his friends threw a going-away bash. The next morning, Clint woke up in the hospital. He’d crashed his car into a telephone pole and kissed any hope of escape goodbye. His drug use skyrocketed. After one hit of crack, he was hooked and the need to get high ate him alive. He stole from family, friends, grocery stores, department stores, and his workplace in order to score cash to support his habit. When his boss fired him, he drank to numb the pain—and drove through the front window of a downtown Minneapolis department store.
Chapter Seventeen
CPOV: Clint enrolls in Teen Challenge, a Christian-based drug and rehab facility. On the night he decides to get baptized, he wishes he could share the moment with his parents, and then hears his mother’s voice. His parents and brother randomly decide to attend the same church the same night and are able to witness Clint’s baptism.
Chapter Eighteen
CPOV: Lonely on Valentine’s Day, the urge to use and relapse pummels Clint. He barricades the door of his halfway house and blares Christian music in order to overcome the need to get high. The next morning, he awakes sober, feeling like he survived a terrible storm.
Chapter Nineteen
CPOV: Clint meets Sam. After they’re married, they move to Chicago. Clint relapses, drinking alcohol and smoking weed. The relapse nearly breaks them both. They refer to their time in Chicago as their “dark years.” Sam takes a youth ministry job in Oregon to save them.
Part Three
Chapter Twenty
SPOV: while living in Oregon, Clint attempts to drink in moderation. The second time he gets drunk, Sam declares she wants a divorce. That night, when she tries to sleep on the living room couch, she experiences a vision of Christ that causes her to stomp back in her bedroom and fall asleep next to Clint. The following morning, Clint apologizes for what happened in Chicago. Then he tells Sam that the previous night he prayed that the sign that his marriage would survive would be Sam's return to the bedroom.
Chapter Twenty-One
CPOV: Clint decides to enroll in a Community College and begs their new small group to pray for him, terrified because of his prior school performance. At the public bus stop that took him to school, a girl who waits at the same stop acts standoffish and refuses to reply to Clint when he tries to say good morning. Clint later learns that it's because the girl was afraid of him due to his appearance. Sam jokes that her fear makes sense, because Clint looks like a felon.
Chapter Twenty-Two
CPOV: A church member hosts a game of mud football for the youth group on his farm and Clint connects with the teens. That Christmas, Sam leads a production of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever and Clint participates. He struggles to reconcile his involvement with church to his former self and deals with imposter syndrome.
Chapter Twenty-Three
CPOV: Clint volunteers at youth group every Wednesday and high energy boys flock to the program each week. A boy with obvious, unmedicated ADHD gets too hyped up, so Clint orders him to run laps around the church or do push-ups. When an at risk teen will have to enter the juvenile detention system, Clint and Sam advocate for him at court to let him stay with them until his trial. When Clint asks Sam why she agreed to the arrangement, she says, “Because I wish someone would have stood up for you.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
CPOV: Clint achieves a 3.8 GPA in his associates’ program. One of his professors, a self-proclaimed atheist, talks about his tenure as a pastor. Astonished that a non-believer could lead a church, Clint decides congregations deserve better and receives his call to ministry. Clint and Sam experience two miscarriages, and though Sam fears Clint will turn to alcohol, the relapse doesn't come. Clint gets a job at Teen Challenge and spends a lot of his time breaking up arguments and physical altercations with men who've only been sober for a matter of days or weeks.
Chapter Twenty-Five
CPOV: Clint and Sam bring their five-day old daughter to a Teen Challenge graduation. Graduates recognize Clint in their speeches and thank him for believing and investing in them.
Chapter Twenty-Six
CPOV: Clint graduates from Oregon State University with Magna Cum Laude honors. While wondering out loud about what God wants him to do next, Clint receives an invitation to apply for a youth director opportunity in Minnesota. He gets the job.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
CPOV and SPOV: Clint and Sam drive a U-Haul from Oregon to Minnesota. On I-84, twenty seconds ahead of their drive, an oil-tanker loses control and skids across I-84 on its side. After a five-hour delay in ninety degree weather and a two-day drive through Montana, Clint and Sam arrive in Minot, ND, the city that nearly destroyed him. Clint is struck and heartbroken by the 2011 flood devastation that wrecked the city.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
CPOV: Clint describes his second daughter’s birth. While she’s still brand-new, he brings his family and a youth team from his church to Minot, North Dakota to assist with flood relief. A high school boy commits suicide. Of all the potential religious leaders in the community, the teens at the school request Clint for grief support. A close friend pressures Clint to drink, but Clint refuses. Clint is called to full-time pastoral ministry.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
CPOV: Clint and Pastor Jeff, Clint’s mentor and friend, visit Millie, a shut in.
Chapter Thirty
CPOV: Despite amazing ministry happening in Sleepy Eye and Fairfax, MN, Clint feels professional pressure and isolation. Sam attends a weekend writing retreat and leaves alcohol in the house. Pastor Jeff slips on the ice and goes into a coma. Clint drinks. Jeff dies.
Part Four:
Chapter Thirty-One
CPOV: Clint officiates Pastor Jeff’s funeral. His relapse, still a secret, taints every good experience. His inability to love himself destroys his ability to recognize that others love him. Clint’s demon of addiction wears him down with shame.
Chapter Thirty-Two
CPOV: Clint plays a football game at the Minnesota Viking’s U.S. Bank Stadium. Nearly twenty friends and family attend the game to cheer him on. Clint realizes everyone present, and each of his teammates, now know his darkest shames and love him anyway.
Chapter Thirty-Three
SPOV: Sam is utterly broken and spent in crisis mode. Sam and Clint argue about chemo. Clint demands that Sam support him better or divorce him. Sam tells him there’s too much going on to make another life-changing decision.
Chapter Thirty-Four
CPOV: Prior to his reinstatement, Clint meets with the congregation to grant them an opportunity to voice their grievances. Some church members spew venomous comments, while others offer grace. Clint asks Sam to write his story.
Chapter Thirty-Five
SPOV: Clint and Sam attend the court, prepared for the worst. Sam leaves, flabbergasted by the display of the judge’s unprecedented grace.
Chapter Thirty-Six
CPOV: Clint writes a newspaper article after his return to ministry and preaches a sermon about addicts and addiction after returning to the pulpit.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
SPOV: Sam hears Clint singing “The ABC’s” with their 4-year-old daughter and cries, wishing the girls had more time with their daddy. In that moment, Sam redefines manhood.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
CPOV: Clint baptizes his mother-in-law in a Wisconsin lake. As he recites the words of baptism for her, he owns them for himself.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
SPOV: Doctor’s prescribe hydrocodone for Clint and Sam notices a positive change in his demeanor and energy level. After less than a week of using the drug, to Sam’s shock, Clint decides to stop taking hydrocodone. Clint explains that the potency of the drug is already wearing off, so Clint requires more, sooner. Then Sam witnesses what drug withdrawal looks like after only five days of dependency, which causes her to pity addicts. Sam notices changes in Clint’s health that point toward him nearing his end of life.
Chapter Forty
SPOV: Sam attends a spiritual retreat for women. Sam experiences a strange blend of imagination and vision, and feels Jesus performing CPR on her and bringing her back to life. She feels frustrated about the vision, since Clint’s life is the one that needs saving.
Forty-One
CPOV: Clint announces that his family will be relocating to a new church.
Chapter Forty-Two
SPOV: Clint and Sam bring their daughters to Disney World. Again, Sam pauses to notice “lasts”. Both Clint and Sam are struck by the finality of the trip.
Chapter Forty-Three
SPOV: Sam compares the first time Clint led an Ash Wednesday service with the last. During the last service Sam rubs ash on Clint’s forehead and says, “From dust you were created. To dust you will return.”
Part Five:
Chapter Forty-Four
CPOV: During a Maundy Thursday church service, Clint experiences severe shortness of breath. The congregation calls 9-1-1 and Clint is rushed to the hospital, where he spends Easter weekend. Clint posts a message on social media.
Chapter Forty-Five
SPOV: Clint loses his temper with unsympathetic hospital staff before undergoing a procedure to insert a catheter.
Chapter Forty-Six
SPOV: Sam wins an argument for the family to visit her parents in Oak Island, North Carolina. Knowing there’s little time left, Sam scurries to create as many memories with Clint as possible. Sam’s stepdad tells Sam, based on his experience of watching a wife and daughter die of cancer, Clint has less than two months to live.
Chapter Forty-Seven
SPOV: Clint steps down from pastoral ministry and goes on medical leave. Sam applies and interviews for a job in Rochester, MN, which would mean a move for the family. Cat scans show rapid growth in Clint’s cancer. Sam gets the job.
Chapter Forty-Eight
SPOV: Sam brings Clint to the hospital to receive an EKG and based on his pain level, doctors admit him. By the end of the week, Sam sits at the foot of Clint’s hospital bed and unfolds her laptop. Together, they plan Clint’s Celebration of Life service.
Chapter Forty-Nine
SPOV: Clergy friends arrive to give Clint communion and wish him well on his forward journey.
Chapter Fifty
SPOV: Clint enters into hospice and asks Sam why Jesus won’t take him. Sam prays for Jesus to stop her husband’s heart.
Chapter Fifty-One
SPOV: Clint’s family says goodbye to Clint and leaves the hospital.
Chapter Fifty-Two
SPOV: Clint’s body begins to shut down. Sam reads descriptions of Jesus from the Bible so when Clint sees Jesus he’ll recognize Him. Sam imagines seeing Clint and Jesus in a garden together. Five hours later, Clint passes away. An eight-year-old boy tells Sam that angels and demons fought over Clint’s body at the time of his death, but the angels won.
Chapter Fifty-Three
SPOV: Clint’s Celebration of Life Service includes 120 robed clergy, football players in their jerseys, and bacon roses as table decorations. The sermon preached is based off of Luke 15, “The Prodigal Son,” and is worthy of a standing ovation.
Chapter Fifty-Four
CPOV: Five weeks prior to his death, Clint visits a shut-in name Millie on hospice. They both know they’re going to die, and Clint whispers to her, “I’ll see you soon. You and Jeff save me a seat, and tell them Daddy’s coming home.”
Epilogue
SPOV: Loved ones gather for Clint’s Celebration of Life Service
