Book: Looking Ahead with Hope

Looking Ahead with Hope - Stories of Humanity, Wonder and Gratitude in a Time of Uncertainty - by Eddie Gilmore

'Looking Ahead with Hope' is a collection of short pieces written by Eddie Gilmore over a three-year period in the course of his work for the Irish Chaplaincy. The book is a weaving together of visits to such places as prisons, care homes and monasteries with travels further afield: pilgrimage on the Camino in Spain, walking retreats in the French Alps, and meetings and events in Ireland. There are various ascents: of Ireland's holy mountain; of Korean mountains to visit remote Buddhist temples; and, by bike, of the steepest road in the world.

At the heart of the book are the encounters with a host of characters, which touch and transform and which reveal our deep connections with one another. The natural world features prominently; so too the part that food and music can play in the sharing and celebration of our common humanity. There are stories of wonder, reflections on faith and on the human condition, and a frequent refrain of gratitude, and of hope.

The author finds joy and meaning whilst playing guitar to a large gathering of people in an Alpine cave, or to a group of Travellers in a prison; but equally whilst sitting on a bench at the bottom of the garden drinking a cup of tea and watching the sunset, and in the many small and hidden moments of encounter or discovery.

The final chapters are written against the backdrop of the huge impacts to our lives of the coronavirus and the resulting uncertainty but it ends with a surprising and simple, and yes hopeful, conclusion.

The book is released on October 29th and can be pre-ordered directly from the publisher, DLT: www.dartonlongmantodd.co.uk/titles/2342-9781913657420-looking-ahead-with-hope

Or from any bookshop (ISBN: 978-1-913657-42-0)