Grace from the Rubble
Two Fathers' Road to Reconciliation after the Oklahoma City Bombing
- History & Biography
- Publisher: Zondervan
- Published: 2020
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Publisher's Description
How do you find the strength to forgive in the midst of unthinkable grief? With compassion for all who have been touched by tragedy, Grace from the Rubble tells the heart-stirring true story of found forgiveness, lasting hope, and the unlikely friendship of two fathers on opposite sides of tragedy. In what was to become the deadliest attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor, the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing left a community searching for healing and hope. Grace from the Rubble tells the intertwining stories of four individuals: Julie Welch, a young professional full of promise whose life was cut short by the bombing; Bud Welch, Julie's father; Tim McVeigh, the troubled mind behind the horrific attack; and Bill McVeigh, the father of the bomber. With searing details by firsthand witnesses, including the former governor of Oklahoma, masterful storyteller Jeanne Bishop describes the suspenseful scenes leading up to that fateful day and the dramatic events that unfolded afterward as one father buried his only daughter and the other saw his only son arrested, tried, and executed for mass murder. Grace from the Rubble will teach you about: The importance of sharing your story The unlikely connections that can stem from heartbreak The life-changing impact of forgiveness Vivid and haunting, this true story is rich with memories and beautiful descriptions of the nation's heartland, a place of grit and love for neighbors and families. Bishop shares the ways in which the bombing affected her own family and led her to meet Bud and, ultimately, how she learned to see humanity amid inhuman violence. Praise for Grace from the Rubble: "Readers should have tissues at hand before beginning Bishop's affecting story. This incredible and empathetic story is a testament to the powers of forgiveness, fellowship, and redemption." -- Publishers Weekly, starred review "Some say that love is the most powerful force in the world. I would suggest it's forgiveness. And the astonishing and beautifully told story of two fathers drawn together by unimaginable tragedy shows how the process of forgiveness happens step by grace-filled step." --James Martin, author, Jesus: A Pilgrimage and My Life with the Saints
Endorsements (9)
“This is a beautiful story of the tragedies wrought by murder and the death penalty, and the opportunities for reconciliation in their aftermath. Moving and instructive.”
“A moving portrait of two gardeners of mercy, men who brought gentle and radical love to yield from the most barren soil. Jeanne Bishop skillfully weaves her own heroic triumph over vengeance with Bud and Bill’s in iridescent prose that glows like a late-summer sunset across red Oklahoma prairie. Grace from the Rubble delivers a searing and much needed reminder that we can move past cycles of hatred if only we find the courage to choose, in spite of everything, to witness the living God in our least likely neighbors.”
“To me, this remarkable story is not an abstraction. I grew up with Jeanne Bishop in the Oklahoma City she evokes so beautifully in this book, and like her, I am forever marked by the 1995 bombing. I share with her, too, the hope that shines through every broken place she achingly describes in a love letter to both this city and the human spirit.”
“Some say that love is the most powerful force in the world. I would suggest it’s forgiveness. And the astonishing and beautifully told story of two fathers drawn together by unimaginable tragedy shows how the process of forgiveness happens step by grace-filled step.”
“In Grace from the Rubble, Jeanne Bishop reminds us that retribution is not the only solution we can offer those whose loved ones have been murdered. murdered. There is another way—the path of forgiveness and reconciliation. It’s the path Jeanne pursued with her sister’s killer, and it’s the path she wrote about in her first book, Change of Heart. This time Jeanne revisits her hometown—Oklahoma City—to tell the unforgettable story of a meeting between Bud Welsh, whose daughter, Julie, was killed in the Oklahoma City bombing, and Bill McVeigh, whose son, Timothy, detonated the truck bomb that killed Julie, killed one hundred sixty-seven other innocents, and wounded hundreds more. This meeting was an act of grace which transformed both men and helped lift them up and out from under the rubble of their lives after the bombing. And this book—also an act of grace—is bound to elevate and transform all who read it.”
“to forgive. Grace from the Rubble reminds us that sometimes we can find the best of who we are in the worst of times.”
“In Grace from the Rubble Jeanne Bishop provides us with a genuine testament that compassion and empathy are the most powerful and only weapons against hate.”
“Jeanne Bishop’s unflinching, strong voice is one we need to hear in our divided nation. She is no naive bleeding heart; rather she is in her third decade as a public defender brave enough to regularly walk into Chicago jails and meet alone with those convicted of violent crimes. She is a bold, gritty storyteller, and Bud and Bill are a compelling story. For those who seek more love in the world and a path beyond our divisions, Bishop shows the way.”
Prof. Mark Osler
“Some say that love is the most powerful force in the world. I would suggest it's forgiveness. And the astonishing and beautifully told story of two fathers drawn together by unimaginable tragedy shows how the process of forgiveness happens step by grace-filled step.”
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