Where the Light Fell

  • Author Philip Yancey
  • Narrator Philip Yancey
  • Publisher John Murray Press
  • Run Time 11 hours and 18 minutes
  • Format Audio
  • Genre Memoirs.
This book is not purchasable in your country. Please select another book.

Listen to a sample

What to expect

'Not until college days do I discover the shocking secret of my father's death.'

With a journalist's background Philip Yancey is widely admired for taking on the more difficult and confusing aspects of faith. Now in Where the Light Fell he shares, for the first time, the painful details of his own origins - taking us on an evocative journey from the backwoods and Bible-belt pockets of the South to the bustling streets of Philadelphia; from trailer parks to church parking lots; from dark secrets and family oddballs to fire-and-brimstone preachers and interminable church services. Raised by their impoverished single mother, Philip and his brother Marshall struggle to comprehend her speeches about their dead father, an Old Testament Bible story, and sons sacrificed for a divine cause.

This coming-of-age story is a slice of life, both intensely personal and broadly resonant, set against a turbulent time in post-WWII American history shaped by the racism and paranoia of fundamentalist Christianity and reshaped by the mounting pressures of the Civil Rights movement and 60s-era forces of social change. An unforgettable listen, it is at once hugely funny, deeply disturbing and achingly poignant. A testament to the power of the human spirit, Where the Light Fell illuminates Yancey's ability to bring comfort to those bruised by the church, and hope to those who can't imagine ever finding a healthy faith.

(P) 2021 Hodder & Stoughton

Critics Review

  • Among the many writings of Philip Yancey you will find evocative glimpses of a past and present family life that has been hugely impactful. Yet that family life is a history that has been deeply relevant to his significant contributions to contemporary Christian literature. And at last we find out more.’

    The Baptist Times
  • offers hope of healing and reveals the depths of grace.

    Woman Alive

More from the same

Author

Subscribe to our newsletter

Sign up to get tailored content recommendations, product updates and info on new releases. Your data is your own: we commit to protect your data and respect your privacy.