How Far to the Promised Land

“With uncompromising honesty and deep introspection, McCaulley complicates the narrative of ‘overcoming racism and poverty as a hero.’ … Powerful and necessary.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)“A thoughtfully written book that offers heartfelt, empathetic lessons without preaching to the choir.”—Kirkus Reviews“Esau McCaulley’s riveting memoir holds together tensions that many of us pry apart: systemic injustice and personal responsibility, accountability and forgiveness, honesty and sympathy. This book is prophetic without being preachy, and heartwarming without being cloying… . A triumph of storytelling.”—Tish Harrison Warren, author of Liturgy of the Ordinary“A riveting book that invites you into the personal journey of one of the finest writers alive today.”—Beth Moore, president of Living Proof Ministries and bestselling author of All My Knotted-Up Life“In these pages are words that redeem time and refresh the human spirit… . The timeliness of McCaulley’s honest, hope-filled story—told with depth, precision, and purpose—feels like a balm for the weary soul.”—Charlie Dates, senior pastor of Salem Baptist and Progressive Baptist“As soon as I finished, I wanted to reread. McCaulley is already recognized as a great scholar and essayist, but this is his best writing yet. The storytelling here is both poetic and prophetic, free of both superficiality and cynicism. Read this book and the words will linger with you.”—Russell Moore, editor in chief of Christianity Today“McCaulley gives his readers an offering to peer into the window of his soul and that of his southern Black family. It is a story of the convergence of structural racism and the grace of God, which carries them on as they traverse the rugged terrain of life to the promised land.”—Ekemini Uwan, public theologian and NAACP Image Award–nominated co-author of Truth’s Table

Esau McCaulley is The Jonathan Blanchard Associate Professor of New Testament and Public Theology at Wheaton College. He is the author of numerous books, including How Far to the Promised Land: One Black Family’s Story of Hope and Survival in the American South, Reading While Black, and the children’s books Josey Johnson’s Hair and the Holy Spirit and Andy Johnson and the March for Justice. A contributing opinion writer for The New York Times, his writings have also appeared in The Atlantic, The Washington Post, and Christianity Today.

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