Thanks to everyone who attended the release party last month! Local guitarist Nick Hall provided the “food of love,” my mom and her sisters (the “Iowa Aunts”) managed the scrumptious bites, and my sister Mindy and brother-in-law Brady kept glasses full. Turns out if you let folks sip beer and wine in pews they listen closely and clap at the end. (Maybe churches should try it.)

My son Soren was a particular star for his delivery of the French lines I could write but can’t pronounce, and Kelsey tirelessly womaned the book table while so many of you generously bought copies.

If you’re now a (hopefully proud) owner of Triptych, you can help promote the book by posting a review on Amazon or Goodreads. Be honest! This entire endeavor is based on the belief our honest words are the living ones. I’d love to hear how your story intersects with Triptych and what the work made you re-see, experience, and question.

Some of my favorite conversations at the party were with former and (possibly) future students. One of the highest honors of having a book out in the world is hearing you respond with the stories of your own matches (puzzles, flames, fights) of faith.

The night of the party I met Hannah Toutge, a young writer who attended with her mother and grandmother. That night she shared part of her story in God Tonight. She says, “I wasn’t expecting to find God in that place. In those words. In that woman I barely knew,” then describes the experience and God as “Unexpected. Authentic. Beautiful.”

I only hope that is the good work Triptych can continue to do in the world.