Circle of Hope: A National Book Award Finalist
On sale
5th August 2025
Price: £14.99
Circle of Hope is Pulitzer Prize-winner Eliza Griswold’s soaring, searing examination of what it means for a community to love, to grow and crucially, to disagree.
Named a Best Book of the Year by the New York Times, Washington Post, New Yorker, NPR, Minnesota Star Tribune, and Publishers Weekly
National Book Award Finalist
‘Glows on every page . . . nearly miraculous.’ – Boston Globe
‘Lyrical, probing, and deeply reported, this is an extraordinary account.’ – Patrick Radden Keefe, author of Empire of Pain
‘Marvelous.’ – New York Times
~ ~ ~
Over forty years, Circle of Hope grew from a small family gathering into an extraordinary Philadelphia church with four thriving congregations, dedicated to fighting for gender equality and an end to racial discrimination. In their pursuit of social justice, the church offered hope to believers of all kinds – from outcasts to addicts – in a radical mission to improve the world.
Then, in the wake of #MeToo and Black Lives Matter, Circle of Hope was forced to confront its own mistakes, plunging the community into existential crisis.
Circle of Hope tells a propulsive, layered story of what we do to stay true to our beliefs. Building on years of deep reporting, Pulitzer Prize-winner Eliza Griswold offers an intimate portrait of pastors and church members in their desperate struggle to hold a community together, despite their dividing truths.
~ ~ ~
‘Eliza Griswold is a dazzling reporter: ever observant, wise, sympathetic, and honest. And in this spellbinding book.’ – David Grann, author of Killers of the Flower Moon and The Wager
‘A sharply contemporary book, painfully honest, stubbornly hopeful.’ – Archbishop Rowan Williams, author of Passions of the Soul
‘That rarest of books: an examination of the sacred and spiritual realm captured with humor, humanity, and style.’ – Susan Orlean, author of On Animals
Named a Best Book of the Year by the New York Times, Washington Post, New Yorker, NPR, Minnesota Star Tribune, and Publishers Weekly
National Book Award Finalist
‘Glows on every page . . . nearly miraculous.’ – Boston Globe
‘Lyrical, probing, and deeply reported, this is an extraordinary account.’ – Patrick Radden Keefe, author of Empire of Pain
‘Marvelous.’ – New York Times
~ ~ ~
Over forty years, Circle of Hope grew from a small family gathering into an extraordinary Philadelphia church with four thriving congregations, dedicated to fighting for gender equality and an end to racial discrimination. In their pursuit of social justice, the church offered hope to believers of all kinds – from outcasts to addicts – in a radical mission to improve the world.
Then, in the wake of #MeToo and Black Lives Matter, Circle of Hope was forced to confront its own mistakes, plunging the community into existential crisis.
Circle of Hope tells a propulsive, layered story of what we do to stay true to our beliefs. Building on years of deep reporting, Pulitzer Prize-winner Eliza Griswold offers an intimate portrait of pastors and church members in their desperate struggle to hold a community together, despite their dividing truths.
~ ~ ~
‘Eliza Griswold is a dazzling reporter: ever observant, wise, sympathetic, and honest. And in this spellbinding book.’ – David Grann, author of Killers of the Flower Moon and The Wager
‘A sharply contemporary book, painfully honest, stubbornly hopeful.’ – Archbishop Rowan Williams, author of Passions of the Soul
‘That rarest of books: an examination of the sacred and spiritual realm captured with humor, humanity, and style.’ – Susan Orlean, author of On Animals
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Reviews
"Lyrical, probing, and deeply reported, this is an extraordinary account of the fraught interplay of faith, community, and values. Eliza Griswold has produced a multigenerational group portrait that is compassionate yet unblinking and will resonate with anyone who aspires to chart a righteous path through this messy, mixed-up world."
"Eliza Griswold is a dazzling reporter: ever observant, wise, sympathetic, and honest. And in this spellbinding book, she not only immerses herself in a radical religious community but also reveals its fracturing in real time, raising questions about the nature of faith and justice and what binds us as Americans."
"With patience, intelligence, and compassion, Eliza Griswold traces the history of a Christian community and its leadership as they struggle to remain faithful to a radical vision through times of immense stress. A sharply contemporary book, painfully honest, stubbornly hopeful."
"That rarest of books: an examination of the sacred and spiritual realm captured with humor, humanity, and style."
"Set against the backdrop of race, sexuality, and belief, Circle of Hope is a deeply captivating and sometimes troubling dive into a world of faith and frustrations often hidden by the political, antagonistic, and triumphalist projections of American Evangelicalism."
"Circle of Hope is a rare and astonishing trek into the fractured soul of America, as told through the deeply reported and beautifully rendered story of one church's crucible."
"Circle of Hope is an act of courage, vulnerability, and creativity―all things that make Eliza Griswold's seasoned voice once again strike with strength."
"This is a lucid, tough, sad, heartening, and ultimately very wise book. It will be a beacon and warning to anyone caught up in this country's social turbulence."
"A story of both truth and grace, Circle of Hope traces in devastating detail how justice and kindness give way to the pursuit of power. The result is a searing reflection on the state of American religion, and on the challenges of holding together against the forces pulling us apart."
"I devoured this book. It made me examine the cost of centering my own self-regard, the need to see oneself as a 'good person.' Eliza Griswold is a master of immersive journalism. I cannot recommend Circle of Hope enough."
"With the deftness and empathy that only Eliza Griswold can provide, Circle of Hope offers a portrait of real people trying to live out an authentic faith in a rapidly secularizing world. It should inspire us to continue to live up to our highest ideals, regardless of all the setbacks that come as a result."
"Eliza Griswold's intimate portrait of one congregation introduces characters who are real enough to unveil something of the mystery of how a group of broken people who don't live up to their ideals can, despite themselves, become good news."
"Riveting . . . A fascinating inquest into the death of a church that doubles as a compassionate case study on the insufficiency of good intentions."
"Glows on every page . . . nearly miraculous."
"Marvelous."
"Griswold traces the tumult of the pandemic and the 2020 Black Lives Matter movement in one Philadelphia church, as four young pastors battle over what it means to devote one's life to others."
"As we see through Griswold's reporting, [Circle of Hope's] fracturing becomes a painful case study in the ways the events of the past four years have exposed the failings of our institutions, without pointing a way forward."
"Compassionate . . . propulsive and immersive . . . An ardent, distinctive work, generous and character-driven, with concerns that speak directly to the current moment and beyond."