Fields of Grace: Faith, Friendship, and the Day I Nearly Lost Everything

Luce's book starts and ends in a field, because that's where her life's story almost came to a close, but really just began. The tale is gripping, for numerous reasons. Not only is she heart-wrenchingly transparent at every turn, but journalist Fisher also provides detail and perspective that bring stirring depth to an already absorbing account. Luce is honest about growing up as the daughter of evangelical rock star Ron Luce, cofounder of Teen Mania Ministries. She struggles with her faith, and her relationship with her father, as she wilts under the pressure of an extreme, emotional, and experience-driven Christianity that she finds empty and lacking heart. She begins to drift away from both faith and family during college, until she connects with young men who emulate the very father she was distancing herself from. The narrative comes to a dramatic climax in a Kansas field when her plane crashes, her best friends are killed, and she walks away the sole survivor. In recovery, she not only finds physical healing, but convalescence for her soul and her relationship with "Papa." It is a calamitous, fascinating memoir, written with surprising spiritual sophistication. In some ways, Luce's story serves as a tragic microcosm for an entire generation finding a faith of their own, and it is one that deserves enthusiastic attention. Agents: Brandi Bowles and Peter McGuigan, Foundry Literary and Media. (Oct.)