Finding Your Plot in a Plotless World

A Little Direction

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The world fell apart for author Daniel de Roulet the moment his son was diagnosed with autism. In Finding Your Plot in a Plotless World, de Roulet takes a closer look at those devastating moments in everyone's lives and the journey that follows. What do we do when our sense of God's plan for our lives crumbles around us? How do we find our plots in a seemingly plotless world?

For answers, de Roulet looks to stories--those of our own culture and the Bible. Along the way, de Roulet encourages readers to be authentic as they tell their own stories and leaves them with hope that God reveals himself through our messy lives.

EXCERPT

Let me make something clear: I am convinced that for Christians, even in the darkest night, there is joy in the morning. God does work all things together--however unlikely the parts--for good for those who love him. But the roads of our progress from darkness to light will often be through murky or unpleasant waters, and our discoveries may not be as whole or as resounding as one could hope. But talking about the whole journey--darkness and light--is being honest to the condition of being human, and perhaps we can help others to begin to make the leap between the difficulties of the now and the promises of the not yet. Successful storytellers and teachers tend to meet their audiences where they are--not where they want them to be. There are times for all of us, Christian and non-Christian alike, when the world seems dark and senseless and morning seems far off, and these times are often when God's plot is the most relevant.

And so this book talks about a journey from plotlessness to plot. Its chapters are meant to be guides for both reading God's stories: narratives that I think God uses to reach down into our own experiences and tell us about himself, and our own stories: the words that we use to tell our experiences to each other and, I believe, to God.


The Author

  1. Daniel de Roulet

    Daniel de Roulet

    Daniel de Roulet (PhD, University of California, Irvine) is professor of English and assistant provost of learning and assessment at Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, California. He is the author of Conversing with Culture: Christian Literature at the...

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Reviews

"Instead of offering consolation for those with doubt, de Roulet alters the landscape by offering consolation to those who struggle with plotlessness or perhaps even meaninglessness. . . . [He has] a gifted pen dipped in the inkwell of graceful prose; [he is] pastoral enough that [he doesn't] scandalize. Instead, [he] offer[s] not some simple answer but the genuine Christian solidity called hope. The hope that sustains a struggle of faith. . . . To lead us into his journey, de Roulet explores the theme of struggling to find a plot within plotlessness by dipping in and out of both biblical plots (Jacob is a favorite of mine in this book) and literary plots. . . . I'd love to see some folks read this and blog about it. It surely deserves it. Maybe my top pick for book of the year on this blog."--Scot McKnight, jesuscreed.org

"[The author] presents many solid propositions as well as wearied insights from his journey of discovering his son's autism. . . . The authenticity of his journey and suggestions will undoubtedly resonate with postmoderns."--Tony Miles, YouthWorker Journal