The Dearly Beloved

A Novel

By: Cara Wall

Narrated by: Kathy Keane

Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

“This gentle, gorgeously written book may be one of my favorites ever.” (Jenna Bush Hager - A Today show “Read with Jenna” Book Club selection!)

This “moving portrait of love and friendship set against a backdrop of social change” (The New York Times Book Review, Editor’s Choice) traces two married couples whose lives become entangled when the husbands become co-pastors at a famed New York city congregation in the 1960s.

Charles and Lily, James and Nan. They meet in Greenwich Village in 1963 when Charles and James are jointly hired to steward the historic Third Presbyterian Church through turbulent times. Their personal differences, however, threaten to tear them apart.

Charles is destined to succeed his father as an esteemed professor of history at Harvard, until an unorthodox lecture about faith leads him to ministry. How then, can he fall in love with Lily - fiercely intellectual, elegantly stern - after she tells him with certainty that she will never believe in God? And yet, how can he not?

James, the youngest son in a hardscrabble Chicago family, spent much of his youth angry at his alcoholic father and avoiding his anxious mother. Nan grew up in Mississippi, the devout and beloved daughter of a minister and a debutante. James' escape from his desperate circumstances leads him to Nan, and, despite his skepticism of hope in all its forms, her gentle, constant faith changes the course of his life.

In The Dearly Beloved, Cara Wall reminds us of “the power of the novel in its simplest, richest form: bearing intimate witness to human beings grappling with their faith and falling in love” (Entertainment Weekly, A-) as we follow these two couples through decades of love and friendship, jealousy and understanding, forgiveness and commitment. Against the backdrop of turbulent changes facing the city and the church’s congregation, Wall offers a poignant meditation on faith and reason, marriage and children, and the ways we find meaning in our lives. The Dearly Beloved is a gorgeous, wise, and provocative novel that is destined to become a classic.

©2019 Cara Wall (P)2019 Simon & Schuster Audio

So sad when it ended!!!

I loved it. What a beautiful story. I will recommend to all kinds of friends. Beautiful writing, beautiful performance. I could have listened for another 12 hours!

Lives Lived!

A read that shares how life journies can bring us together and can tear us apart. The joy, heartbreak, perceived truth, and realities in our daily lives. The journey of faith.

Worth the wait

I had listened to this book before bed each night, thinking it was quite long and just mildly interesting. As I progressed to the 2nd and 3rd parts it grew together into a beautiful story that was really insightful and an inspiration to me. I even cried at one point over the joy of discovery after perseverance of Lilly and her search for help of her son. An arduous journey and I am so grateful for all the knowledge that has been gathered for autistic families. It saddens me that the journey to knowledge has harmed so many families but not just autism, so many other medical conditions that families have experienced.

Beautiful story of faith, growth, love and friendship

I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this as much as I did! The stories of each main character as well as both couples were intimate and deeply moving. It was a privilege to go through the triumphs and struggles.

lovely story, Illuminating and informative

I love this story. The characters leapt off the page. Their struggles seem real and clearly echo the difficulty of having faith in a world of tragedy and difficulty. This engaging novel illuminates. the difficulty of going through this world alone and the comfort they can come from being bonded to one another.

So well-written

This is one of the best books that I have read in years! So well written so comforting and I would recommend this book to any reader whether they be religious or not, whether they believe in God or not. This is not a religious book, this is a book about human feelings and emotions and how different people deal with tragedy and disappointment. The author writes in a very descriptive manner where I feel like I know each character and how they think.

Good Book

I enjoyed this book. Narrator was great,except for the southern accent, but all and all very good. I would recommend this to anyone that enjoys a good novel.

An endearing story

Loved how the author entertained these characters with such different personalities and backgrounds. I was sad when the journey ended.

Thought provoking and heartfelt

The narration is spectacular! The story is 90% amazing and 10% incredulous. This is a great book most of the time.

Finding Faith

I thought I believed in God and what that meant,, but listening to this story made me realize that I had so many questions. Our beloved me took answer some and to formulate other questions still.