What do you do when life loses its plot? When the story you thought you were living has become a shamble? When the faith you believed informed your story has turned into, it would appear, the means of its destruction? It might also be true, of course, that you have simply made a mess of life. That's the situation in which the Reverend Ted March finds himself in The Holy Fool. His marriage in crisis, his children confused, and his congregation at his throat, Ted responds by going deeper into the Christian mystery than ever before and finds he must take an unimaginable risk. The Holy Fool, first released in 1984, is an acute observation of life within evangelical circles, with a depth of insight that makes it as relevant today as ever. Beyond its unflinching depiction of this religious milieu--in which 80 million Americans practice their faith--the novel addresses perennial questions of life's meaning, especially how to reconcile a broken and often cruel world with a loving God.