Zachary D Schmoll, the former Managing Editor of An Unexpected Journal, invites you to explore the common threads that bind our favorite cultural artifacts to the deepest questions of existence. From the hills of the Shire to the hardwood of the power soccer court, these essays reveal that our literary companions, the stories we love, shine a light on what we are designed to love.

Written in an approachable style for anyone wrestling with big questions, this collection argues that the universe is not a random accident, but arranged in a meaningful pattern by the great Pattern Maker.