The Priest Who Limped
A novel By Rev. Iain Gow
A story that wrestles with the tensions of life and faith with honesty and grace.
The journeys of life have left Rev Jack McQuarrie with a metaphorical limp.
Now in his autumn days, he tells of his sorrows and joys, his failures and successes, the tenderness and tensions of family life, and a quest to remain true to his calling as he befriends faith and doubt along the way.
Through evocative vignettes that are by turns both light and poignant, and through the voices of family members, this strikingly honest and raw fictional memoir is about being human and finding hope. But most of all, it’s about grace.
As the book unfolds, a powerful story emerges, wrestling with the tensions of life and faith, and whispering, ‘All will be well’ – even when it’s not.
This book is my first novel set in ‘the real world’, a story that is first of all fiction, peopled with fictional characters, and yet, within it, much of what I’ve expressed has inevitably been seen through the lenses of my own (and others) spirituality and life experiences.~ Iain
Publisher: Castle Publishing Ltd 2024
REVIEWS
“Presented in short chapters, each written from the perspective of one of four different characters, this poignant story presents a realistic portrait of a journey of faith - sometimes bleak, sometimes humorous - with a deep, underlying stream of grace. If you are looking beyond saccharine Christian fiction for a thought-provoking, honest novel of spiritual depth, read The Priest who Limped.”
— Rev. Bosco Peters of Liturgy
“A rich, evocative and ultimately life-affirming book that immediately draws you into the stories of the main family characters. A poignant exploration of the human experience in all its fragile aching beauty!”
— Josh Jones, Vicar, St Georges, Epsom, Auckland
“The Priest Who Limped beckons us to follow a spiritual path with all its hopes and uncertainties. Though a work of fiction, this book reflects the author’s struggles and triumphs, giving us a moving picture of life lived to the full. On reading it, I was moved to reflect on my own life and it assured me that there’s always more to see and opportunity to change!”
— Rt Rev David Gillett
Author’s Note
“This story flowed easily and generously from my heart. ‘Write what you know’, as the old adage goes. And that’s how a novel should be - drawn from life, but full of marvellous imagination too.
My own life has known great beauty, and alongside that, moments of profound human despair. So, in that sense, The Priest Who Limped is my story – but it is also your story, as you too will have known the need for grace along the way.
I hope that in reading this novel you will discover for yourself that grace is the most beautiful word in the English language. May you close the final pages with a sense of the goodness that awaits you, and that has always been with you.”
Rev Iain Gow, Author
