Schuller has inspired and motivated millions with his books, sermons and Hour of Power
television show. Almost from the beginning of his ministry, he has combined biblical truths with psychological insights to preach the message of possibility thinking. In this autobiography, Schuller engages in a series of folksy fireside chats as he tells of his journey from growing up on an Iowa farm to founding and pastoring the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, Calif. Schuller's first church in California had been set up in a drive-in movie theater, but even then he knew he was going places: "I was on my way to a great future.... That awesome birth of possibility thinking overwhelmed me with confidence, vision, courage, faith, hope, enthusiasm, optimism, and energy!" In spite of his phenomenal successes, Schuller has experienced a variety of personal ordeals along the way: his wife's breast cancer, his daughter's loss of her leg, his son's divorce from his first wife, critics of his ministry and his own brain hemorrhage. Through it all, though, Schuller turns pain into possibility. Like one of his sermons, his autobiography describes the ways that one impending catastrophe after another turns into a miracle of God's mercy and grace. Schuller's message is simplistic—"if you have to bawl, then turn it into a ball"—and his prose can be vapid and maudlin. Nevertheless, his throngs of admirers will welcome their inspirational leader's portrait of his life. (Nov.)
Forecast:This is a major launch for Harper San Francisco, with a feature in
Parade magazine, a
Today
Show appearance and a 10-city national author tour. Perhaps most importantly, Schuller will hawk the book directly to his many fans on
The Hour of Power, which is the nation's most-watched church service.
