This devotional book pairs short excerpts from Elizabeth Gaskell’s novels with Bible passages from The Message. It’s a rather bleak collection. The Gaskell selections center on hardship, suffering, and death, with little variety in theme. Readers suffering from depression or grief might find more to appreciate in this collection than I did, since the scripture passages could provide comfort. The collection may appeal to Catholic readers more than Protestant readers since some of the scripture selections are taken from the Apocrypha. I had no idea that the evangelical Eugene Peterson prepared a Catholic version of The Message. ( )