Mother Teresa's dedicated love for the poor of Calcutta brought her admirers from around the world. Millions loved her, none more than the forgotten she felt called to serve. But few had any idea that her love for God seemed at times unrequited, that "the little bride of Christ" felt herself somehow outside the range of God's love. In a series of meditations, James Calvin Schaap tells the story of Teresa of Calcutta and reflects on the deep faith but also the nagging doubt that characterized one of the most beloved human beings of the 20th century.

Set in a small prairie town in northwest Iowa, and narrated from the grave in a voice that is often humorous, elucidatory, and enlightening, these interconnected folk tales capture how the dearly departed handle being spirits in a world that continues on without them, but also with them. In Up the Hill, death is intimate, and sometimes painful, but it is a threshold to understanding - not only for the deceased, but for the living. The result is forgiveness, redemption, and divine intervention and proof that "you get a whole lot smarter when you die."