Religious Biographies

The untold story of William Haas, pioneering missionary to central Africa and founder of Baptist Mid-Missions. In the early 1900s, a question loomed large: who would take the gospel to central Africa, one of the world’s last regions untouched by missions. Few people dared to explore this rugged frontier let alone bring the gospel. Central Africa’s untamed wildlife and virulent diseases brought the very real potential of death to outsiders.

"There is really no better indicator you're a mother than acquiring the ability to catch throw-up in a plastic bag, disinfect your hands, and immediately ask your friend to pass the beef jerky as you put on another Taylor Swift song and act as if nothing has happened." This is the type of insight Melanie Shankle offers in this quirky memoir of motherhood.

On February 14, 1989, Valentine's Day, Salman Rushdie was telephoned by a BBC journalist and told that he had been "sentenced to death" by the Ayatollah Khomeini. For the first time he heard the word fatwa. His crime? To have written a novel called The Satanic Verses, which was accused of being "against Islam, the Prophet and the Quran". So begins the extraordinary story of how a writer was forced underground, moving from house to house, with the constant presence of a police protection team.

Seventeen-year-old Dwight Lyman Moody changed his name, moved to Boston, and began pursuing dreams of becoming a wealthy businessman. But God had other plans for him. Instead of business, evangelism was to be his life's work. D.L. devoted his life to proclaiming the gospel, serving the poor, and mentoring fellow ministers. A leader of great vision, D. L. Moody served his fellow man through Civil War outreach, his Sunday school and church, and revival campaigns in America and abroad.

It’s easy to talk about freedom. But unless someone has lived in a world that suffocates freedom, it’s difficult to appreciate the liberty found in America. This is the true story of a Pakistani Muslim who immigrates to the United States for college and discovers five transformational freedoms along the way: the freedom to fail and start over, to love, to choose one’s faith, to be an entrepreneur, and to self-govern.

In his twenties, Fydor Dostoevsky, son of a Moscow doctor, graduate of a military academy, and rising star of Russian literature, found himself standing in front of a firing squad, accused of subversive activities against the Russian Tsar. Then the drums rolled, signaling that instead he was to be exiled to the living death of Siberia. Siberia was so cold the mercury froze in the thermometer. In prison, Dostoevsky was surrounded by murderers, thieves, parricides, and brigands who drank heavily, quarreled incessantly, and fought with horrible brutality.

Emotional and raw, Sean DeMars tells his story of a life turned around. It is a tale of two families: one scarred by brokenness, another renewed by grace. In his storytelling, the tragedy and horror of his early years are punctuated with the beauty of restoration evident in the life he now leads. Abandoned by a father and abused by a mother, his search for a father finds a home with the King of heaven who graces him with love and sonship.

Katherine’s story begins with tragedies, but God touched her heart at a crusade and led her to Uganda as a missionary to the children. Leaving her prestigious job and home, she went to a land of mud huts and polluted water. In the midst of sickness and poverty, she loved and cared for the orphans of the war-torn country as she faced witch doctors and Muslim agitators. Katherine shares her life story to help us know we can all make a difference - if only we let God....

In A Change of Affection, Becket Cook shares his testimony as someone who was transformed by the power of the Gospel. His dramatic conversion to Christianity and subsequent seminary training inform his views on homosexuality - personally, biblically, theologically, and culturally - and his compelling audiobook guides listeners through this complex and controversial issue while revealing how to lovingly engage with those who disagree.

Eric's refusal earlier that week to run on Sunday in the Olympic 100-meter race had stunned the world. Now his incredible victory in the 400-meter race further strengthened his belief in God's promise, "He who honors Me, I will honor." Years later, Eric Liddell would be tested far beyond mere physical ability as a missionary to China. His character, perseverance, and endurance are a challenging example for all who would obey the call to bring the gospel to the nations.

In this stirring and true story, Gunther, a handicapped and neglected child, born in Germany during World War I, finds a new home at Bethel, a Christian community for the physically and mentally impaired. At Bethel, Gunther learns to speak and sing, walk and work, and pray and praise. Through the care of pastors, deaconesses, and teachers, Gunther finds meaning and purpose in music, thanksgiving, friendship, and the everyday exercise of a life lived well, no matter the limitations. But, the love and security of Bethel is threatened by the Nazi regime, as it targets the vulnerable.

Philip Yancey, whose explorations of faith have made him a guide for millions, feels no need to defend the church. Yancey acknowledges that many spiritual seekers find few answers and little solace in the institutional church. How did Yancey manage to survive spiritually despite early encounters with a racist, legalistic church that he now views as almost cultic? In this, his most soul-searching book yet, he probes that very question.

God's Immeasurable grace. It's the most important ingredient for the perfect love story. Tragic circumstances often stretch relationships to their breaking point. But God's grace is always more than enough. For Ken and Joni Eareckson Tada, enduring quadriplegia, chronic pain, cancer, and depression only made their love more vibrant through 30 years of marriage. Discover a bond that has seen the worst and claimed the best. Listen about Joni and Ken’s challenges firsthand. Discover God's immeasurable grace along the way, as their story inspires and enriches your own relationships.

Few artists have left a more indelible mark on America's musical landscape than Charlie Daniels. Listeners will experience a soft, personal side of Charlie Daniels that has never before been documented. In his own words, he presents the path from his post-Depression childhood to performing for millions as one of the most successful country acts of all time and what he has learned along the way.

The hope-infused audio of On My Worst Day reveal the redemption you’ve longed for. Discover firsthand how the narrative of your life changes as you dare to believe that your worst days do not define you. With each impactful story, you will be awakened to the undeniable power of the cross that sets you free. Whether for the first time or the first time in a long time, you will encounter the voice of God, who has adored you from the beginning, and you will hear his words to you: You are enough, my child. Surpassingly enough.

Excerpt from the book: I know how it feels to be behind a door that can be opened only from the outside, for I have been a prisoner in three different prisons. I learned a great deal in prison as this was a very difficult class in the schoolroom of life. When you are in a difficult class with a good teacher, you learn much—and my teacher was very good. It was Jesus Himself! “I wish I could share with you what I learned during my imprisonment, but I am old and I cannot travel much now. Since we cannot speak personally together, I have decided to visit you through this little book.

The biography of Sri Ramakrishna is the story of an intense search for God. Sri Ramakrishna was not satisfied until he realized God to be real with every fiber of his being. He ultimately saw God more intensely than he saw the world. Sri Ramakrishna talked with God as a young child speaks to the mother throughout the day.

In the Shadow of Enlightenment is the gripping story of Carroll’s childhood inside the Osho Rajneesh cult—one of the most controversial spiritual movements of the 20th century. While in the commune, Sarito was submerged in a world where devotion and freedom clashed with manipulation, sexual misconduct, and neglect. This was the life she knew until the movement collapsed amid scandal and criminal charges in 1985, when sixteen-year-old Sarito was thrust into a society she knew little about.

As Charles Strobel, beloved Nashville priest and champion of the unhoused, reached the end of his life in 2023, he began to contemplate the last message he wanted to leave his family, friends, and community. With the help of his niece, Katie Seigenthaler, and his colleague, Amy Frogge, Strobel began to dictate The Kingdom of the Poor. He wrote, “Mark Twain, the great American folk hero and writer, has said, ‘The two most important days of your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.’ The following pages help to explain why I was born.”

In Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith, the author of the bestsellers Traveling Mercies and Plan B delivers a poignant, funny, and bittersweet primer of faith, as we come to discover what it means to be fully alive.