Home to Harmony

By Phillip Gulley

Some readers compare the Harmony series to Jan Karon’s Mitford books with their gentle humor, others to Garrison Keillor’s Lake Wobegon with a dry-humored look at a small town, and still others see the folksy Mayberry in this collection. I glimpse some of all of those attitudes in Gulley’s novels along with a lot of emotion from passages that are laugh out loud funny to others that are so touching they will bring tears to your eyes.

Phillip Gulley is a Quaker pastor, thus giving some authenticity to his main character Sam Gardner who is a Quaker pastor in Harmony, the little town he grew up in. The author peoples Home to Harmony with some extreme characters living out their ordinary lives in unspectacular ways. Despite the ordinariness of the events in the book, Gulley manages to pull all the plugs of human emotions. There is Dale Hinshaw, the tight-fisted elder who has a firm opinion about everything. Miriam Hodges is a leader who manages to get church business accomplished despite elders who would rather discuss things than get them done. Topics range from plumbing to spelling bees and lots in between. The characters manage to get into some hilarious situations and certainly are not perfect. But they try, and Sam Gardner works at being his best and guiding his flock with the kindness and gentleness of Jesus while standing up for what is right in day to day decisions. As Jesus taught through stories, Gulley tries to instruct in the same way using characters we can relate to even if they are somewhat exaggerated. We get to know the characters through various anecdotes that compose the chapters and which generally end with an inspirational line or two that sum up the take aways that Gulley is aiming for.

Rating: 5/5

Category: Christian, Fiction, Humor, Inspiration

Notes: 1. #1 in the Harmony Series

    2. Audiobook narrated by Norman Dietz. I listened to the book and also read some of it. Dietz is a good narrator for Home to Harmony.

Publication:   March 16, 2004—Harper One

Memorable Lines:

There’s danger in thinking joy is a matter of location. If we can’t find joy where we are, we probably won’t find it anywhere.

When love takes you by the hand and leaves you better, that is home. That’s the place to stake your claim and build your life.

In the end, that is what we all must do. Stand where we feel led. Stand straight, stand tall, and try hard to remember that other folks might be led to stand elsewhere.