Could you use a hug?

When we began to create Hot Apple Cider, our task was to produce a gift book filled with stories ordinary people would enjoy reading.

So 30 writers and 2 editors looked at our own lives and shared our pain, our fears, and our hope. We opened up about our feelings of loneliness, times of depression, unfair treatment, and the peace we feel when we pour our hearts out to God. We shared our times of helplessness and abandonment, and our faith that God never leaves us alone. We talked about our longings and our times of loss, our feeling that no one else had...

Life isn't fair. We all know that.

Bad things happen to good people. We feel alone and vulnerable. Things that should work fail. Families fall apart. We hear words we don't want to hear. We lose people we care about. At times, we all struggle to go on. And yet... there is always hope.

In this book, 37 writers share more than 50 stories of hope with you.

Our writers have learned that no one is every truly alone. That, with a little help, we can enjoy life again. Find ways around obstacles. Forge new friendships. Become a closer-knit family. Go on in spite of loss. Start...

You'll be amused, encouraged, and inspired to reflect on ways you've been shown love, and to consider how you might show more love in the future.

The men, women, and children in these stories experienced love in ways they'd never have thought of, from people they might not normally have noticed, and in surprising places:

- on the wrong side of the tracks in small-town Ontario

- beside a wood burning stove in the Central African Republic

- in the words of an old letter in a New Brunswick house

- next to a burned-out Saskatchewan farmhouse

- upon a...

Pull up a nice, warm, cozy chair and enjoy some Hot Apple Cider along with me.

Move in closer. That's it. We'll all share our stories together, like a group of close friends. Stories of heartbreak and redemption--trouble and overcoming--questioning our faith and embracing it--and, most of all, finding hope at the end of every path.

There's just nothing like a circle of warm friends to share life with. All 15 of us will take turns opening up our hearts to you--sharing little pieces of ourselves. Come and join us.

We'll even include discussion...

This Discussion Guide was created to accompany the book, Hot Apple Cider: Stories to Stir the Heart and Warm the Soul, and has questions related to each story which can be used by readers, book clubs, or small groups. The questions will help readers think further about the issues raised, enjoy stimulating discussions, and share ideas and meaningful experiences.

Hot Apple Cider is an award-winning collection of inspiring personal experience articles, short stories, and poems by writers whose work is distinguished by honesty and vulnerability, combined with...

Individual Readers
You can read the book straight through and let each contributor surprise you with his or her thought-provoking insights; use the accompanying free downloadable "Reader's Guide" to find specific stories; or look up stories on topics that are relevant to your situation. After reading each story, you have the option of using the Discussion Guide as part of a personal study: read and meditate on the questions, then journal your responses.

Book Clubs
A Second Cup of Hot Apple Cider is a great choice...