“I think Grace is the most beautiful word in the English language.”

Greetings friends,

I greet you from my home near Auckland in Aotearoa, New Zealand which I share with my wife, Linda, and our hound, Nutella, a chocolate brown labradoodle.

I am sitting on the porch overlooking the garden which is a source of delight and where I am often engrossed in the spiritual practice of weeding! It is a restful place from which to share a little of the man behind the books.

Who am I? “Just Me”, as Piglet might say.

Born in South Africa and educated in Europe and the United States, I’m a bit of a mongrel who has lived in eight countries and have learnt so much from other cultures that can be shared.

I’m a husband and father, pilgrim and gardener. I’m a retired Anglican priest who has discovered a vocation as a writer in the autumn of my life. I am someone who does not have it all together but who thinks, even so, that life holds such beautiful colours.  

I traverse the dark inner country of depression much more often than I would like. This reality allows me to write not only about the major key moments of life and faith, but also the minor key moments, when everything goes to custard.

Writing has been a gift to me in my life.

An Iain Gow book will always wrestle with the tensions of faith and life. Many of my characters are flawed, relatable people who experience grace along the way. Each book has an intrinsic story-line of redemption

I write so others may know that Grace is the most beautiful word in the English language.

A Priest Without Walls

What does this moniker mean? There are many strands that weave this answer.

• I have a priestly vocation, but not a congregation in this chapter of my life.

• I live as a contemplative, beyond the walls of the church in a formal sense - though I am richly connected to the community of faith.

• As someone recently retired, I offer my time in hospice, as a spiritual companion to those sure of God and those unsure.

• I offer spiritual direction/companionship and preside at weddings and funerals.

• I am priest who writes books for anyone, recognising that we are all children of God, called to discover our deepest humanity and even an aspect of divinity.

Without Walls was the name of a monastic/therapeutic community that I was privileged to lead with my wife and many others for four years. In that time, we lived with 45 people, some who had very serious mental health struggles, some who came from the police cells, some teenagers who had their own challenges with systemic poverty that often led to drugs. And then there was my wife and me!!!

Community is messy but we leaned in with faithfulness towards one another, acknowledging that we all walk with a limp.

My first book, Be Still, illustrated by the artist, Nate Tate, came out of this time. These prayers and blessings welled up from and for our community and have since overflowed to many corners of the globe. They invite people into the refreshing and healing oasis that Christ offers amidst the grittiness of life.

My writing is therefore an extension of my Without Walls experience. I write to fellow travellers on the journey of faith and life. Sometimes they are followers of Christ and sometimes, those who are very unsure of which road to travel. 

It continues to amaze me how I receive messages from people all over the world who have somehow come to hold a copy of the book I have written in their hands.

I wonder, “how did that book get there”?

I feel glad that I can be for a moment a small cog in this vast universe of ours, a cog that brings a momentary blessing. We can all be that….

Thank you sitting on the porch with me for this brief moment. May you discover grace for your own journey.

If you read my books, I hope you receive hope for the road less travelled; that you may sense the loving invitations of the Saviour who calls, always a little in front of us.