Cofounders of Sacred Center New York, Gold and Fotinos offer a spiritual parable that will appeal to fans of It’s a Wonderful Life
. The hero is Joseph Hutchinson, a hardworking farmer in late–19th-century Long Island. Though not a “believer” like his beloved wife, Miriam, Joseph has a special relationship with his attic. He not only prays in his attic, he prays to his attic, beseeching the room, for example, to help him safely deliver his first child. When, despite Joseph’s prayers, Miriam dies of pneumonia, Joseph turns away from prayer and the attic, until one day he discovers a mysterious chest filled with scraps of paper and a notebook. This is, of course, the titular prayer chest, which contains three secrets to prayer: prayer is answered through you; prayers are answered when you listen; and “prayer is answered when you welcome everything.” (Hints of a fourth secret point to a sequel.) The prose can be prosaic, and Joseph’s children are at times too precociously, adorably sage (“Poppa, did you find the missing piece of your heart behind that wall?” asks six-year-old Mary, as Joseph is dislodging the panels of wood that reveal the prayer chest). Still, this easy, inspirational read will warm the hearts of seekers everywhere. (Oct. 30)
