Book Publication Day

Book Publication Day - A Dedication and Acknowledgement

My book The Great Return: Why Only a Restoration of Christianity Can Save Western Civilisation was published on Thursday this week. This is the second book I’ve had published but the first time round it was an expensive academic book and this time it is for a wider audience. I’m really pleased with the physical book, which is a thing of beauty. One thing that has fallen through the net (and it’s my fault), is that I didn’t manage to get the dedication and acknowledgements printed in the front of the book. I hope to get it in future versions. But for now I thought I’d simply reproduce it here:

Dedication

This book is for my children – Rafe, Rupert, Mary, and Alexander – and for all the children of the coming generation: that the light of Christ may not falter but shine once again in their day.

Acknowledgements

I would first and foremost like to thank my editor Andy Lyon for his help with this book. This is a joint effort between me, him, and everyone who has had a hand in it at Hodder Faith. From the first moment I suggested this idea, I have been surprised by Andy’s enthusiasm and positivity. He has provided gentle yet insightful guidance from the earliest days right up until the point of publication and beyond. I have thoroughly enjoyed our periodic chats and it has been a pleasure not only to gain an editor in Andy but also a friend.

I would also like to thank the Reverend Daniel French and the Reverend Thomas Pelham who are co-hosts with me on the Irreverend podcast. Without their generosity of time and support I would not have been able to write this book. The podcast itself has been a forum through which I have been able to glean information and generate ideas. It has also been a lot of fun. Thanks chaps for all the good times so far!

For listeners, viewers, and readers of my publications also – especially those who have supported me financially! – thank you. Your generosity and support are something that I can barely believe I receive.

Finally, I would like to thank my children and my wife, Lorna, for all their love and joy. To Lorna, especially, “Thank you”, hardly seems like the appropriate register, nor is it right to say that I wouldn’t have been able to write this book without your help. It is rather better to say that I would not be the person that I am without you, and therefore that I would not capable of doing such things, nor confident enough in myself to try. Thank you, then, for all that you have given me in these past years, not least our beautiful children and our life together. I love you all.