Kevin J. Shawda's latest book, Tales of Hope and Faith, brings together five stories that, while featuring separate casts and settings, share a common thread: the transformative power of faith, family, and second chances. The collection, which includes "Valley of Hope," "…just because they've never spoken to you," "Jerry Saw an Angel," "Brother Sully, Little Sister," and "As Fate Would Have Us," offers readers an anthology-like scope while maintaining a unified focus on spiritual discovery and redemption. Its release signals a continued appetite for inspirational fiction that tackles hardship without offering easy answers, and it positions Shawda as a storyteller attuned to the quiet moments where belief is tested and strengthened.
In "Valley of Hope," fifteen-year-old Patrick Kavanagh arrives at Ellis Island from Ireland, carrying ambition, loneliness, and anger toward the father who sent him away. His journey westward introduces him to rail riders and the Pratts, a Nebraska family who employ him in a printing business and nurture his artistic talent. A violent assault leaves him badly injured, but it also sets off a spiritual awakening that leads him to Salt Lake City, baptism, missionary service, and a reckoning with his feelings about home. The story matters because it shows how displacement can become the ground for belonging, and how forgiveness often arrives only after a long and painful road.
"…just because they've never spoken to you" shifts to mystery. A stranger named John arrives in a small town wanting to spend time with its animals. Initially seen as peculiar, he gradually earns admiration as animals respond to him with extraordinary calm and his presence encourages service and community cohesion. When a wildfire forces wildlife toward a pond, John appears among the fleeing animals, seemingly guiding them to safety before vanishing into the blaze. Authorities report few wildlife casualties and no human deaths, but John is never seen again. His fate remains open to interpretation, leaving readers to ponder the nature of grace and sacrifice.
"Jerry Saw an Angel" explores grief through the eyes of a young boy after his mother, Rebecca Coolidge, dies following an eighteen-month battle with advanced ovarian cancer. Jerry's connection to the Book of Mormon, a pond near the family chapel, and pages he sends across the water form a gentle depiction of childhood mourning. During an extraordinary gathering of fireflies, Jerry believes he encounters his mother and later reveals details he could not reasonably have known, including the location of Rebecca's own Book of Mormon. The experience does not erase the family's sadness, but it gives them a new way to carry it—a reminder that spiritual comfort often arrives in forms that defy explanation.
"Brother Sully, Little Sister" introduces a hard-drinking drifter whose accidental meeting with orphaned Madeleine "Maddie" Sinclair gradually exposes a military past, unresolved grief, and an instinct for duty. Sully promises to escort Maddie safely to Wyoming, and their difficult trip creates an unlikely sibling bond. The story ultimately reveals Sully as Brevet Colonel Sully, a decorated Civil War veteran selected to receive the Medal of Honor for bravery at Chancellorsville. The collection closes with "As Fate Would Have Us," in which brothers Bobby Lee and Willie Hathaway find themselves wearing uniforms from opposing sides of the Civil War. Their reunion at Fredericksburg forces a choice wider than politics; brotherhood wins, and they leave the battlefield together. Joined by Lillie Waltrop, they undertake a hazardous journey home filled with patrols, hunger, injury, and strangers willing to help.
Tales of Hope and Faith offers historical adventure, spiritual questions, family drama, mystery, and humor within one volume. Shawda's characters do not escape hardship untouched; they emerge carrying scars, new relationships, changed convictions, and a clearer understanding of where they belong. For readers drawn to inspirational fiction with historical settings, Christian themes, and emotional family stories, the collection presents five distinct journeys united by faith in the possibility of renewal.
