Christian Resources Together (CRT) has released the finalists for its 2022 awards, and IVP is pleased to announce that Feathers of Hope by Sharon Garlough Brown is one of three books shortlisted for the CRT Fiction Book of the Year.

CRT, based in England, provides support, fellowship, training, and business opportunities for those working within the United Kingdom Christian retail and supply trade. Winners of the 2022 CRT Awards will be announced on October 13 at an awards celebration at Sandown Park in Surrey, England. Winners will also be featured in CRT’s Together magazine.

Feathers of Hope details the story of Wren Crawford and her great-aunt, Katherine Rhodes, who prove to be companions in both sorrow and hope. In this sequel to Shades of Light and Remember Me, fans of the Sensible Shoes Series will not only be able to attend Katherine's final retreat sessions at New Hope but will also encounter old and new friends along the way.

Elizabeth Musser, author of The Swan House and The Dwelling Place, said, “In Feathers of Hope, Sharon Garlough Brown brilliantly portrays mental illness in a gentle and heartbreaking way as young Wren continues on her path toward healing from deep depression. We also glimpse the bare humanity of Wren’s great-aunt and housemate, Katherine Rhodes, as she navigates her impending retirement from directing the New Hope Retreat Center. Feathers of Hope tells a story of shedding the old to bring forth the new, giving hope to all of us who are confronted with our deep humanity and sinfulness after days or decades of our own sacred journey. A poignant, deeply personal, and relevant story for such a time as this.”

Sharon Garlough Brown is a spiritual director, speaker, and cofounder of Abiding Way Ministries, providing spiritual formation retreats and resources. She is the author of the bestselling Sensible Shoes Series, which includes spiritual fiction novels Sensible Shoes, Two Steps Forward, Barefoot, An Extra Mile, and their study guides.

A graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary, Brown has served on the pastoral staff of congregations in Scotland, Oklahoma, England, and most recently West Michigan, where she copastored with her husband, Jack, for many years. In March 2013 her book Sensible Shoes was named one of television personality Kathie Lee Gifford’s “favorite things.”

Voting for the CRT Awards is overseen by Christian Resources Together (CRT) in conjunction with the Booksellers Association-Christian Booksellers Group (BA-CBG), the Christian Suppliers Group (CSG), Kingsway CLC Trust (KCLCT), and Eden.co.uk together with suppliers and retailers. 

For a list of IVP award winners, visit ivpress.com/award-winners.