In real life, university professor and respected author James Bryan Smith experienced a heart-wrenching season of loss in the late 1990s when his mother (Wanda), two-year-old daughter (Madeline), and close friend (musician Rich Mullins) passed away within months of each other. To cope with their absence and to resolve some of his related spiritual questions about eternity, Smith has written Room of Marvels, available January 15, 2004 from Broadman & Holman Publishers.

Although penned as a work of fiction, Room of Marvels very closely mirrors Smith’s own story. The book follows Tim Hudson, a successful Christian author, who has finally arrived at God’s address: the end of his rope. The writer has lost his mother, daughter, and best friend in a short time and desperately seeks answers during a spiritual retreat at a Massachusetts monastery. His advisor, Brother Taylor, challenges Tim to meditate on a biblical passage from Luke that says, “Nothing is impossible with God.”

Taking those words to heart that night as he prays himself to sleep, Tim dreams about a vivid journey to Heaven; a dark train ride toward a brilliant horizon, arrival at an autumn-marked valley where the beauty of nature, music, and communication are magnified far beyond earthly imagination. One by one, Tim encounters departed acquaintances and distant relatives, personal heroes like C.S. Lewis, and has extended reunions with his mother, daughter, and best friend. Each one, joy-filled by their Heavenly citizenship, helps Tim heal his world-torn heart as God’s glory and grace come into new perspective.

Dallas Willard (The Divine Conspiracy) writes in the afterword to Room of Marvels:

“It is assurance of the continuity of our lives under God and in this universe with him that liberates us from ‘the sorrow of those who have no hope’ (1 Thessalonians 4:13). And it is on precisely this point that James Smith’s wonderful story helps us. The biblical and theological content is quite solid – though it will be surprising to many who do not put concrete content and image and action into their reading of the Bible and their theological reflection. It must be surprising if it is to address the need. And the need is great – appalling, when you observe how devout Christians suffer in the face of physical death.”

Room of Marvels by James Bryan Smith is a short read (160 pages) that will stay with readers long after the book is closed, inspiring soulful conversations among friends and leading individuals to frequently consider and relate to the story behind the book’s title. Author interviews are available upon request.

Broadman & Holman is best known for publishing books by Dr. Henry Blackaby (Experiencing God) and Beth Moore (Praying God’s Word) as well as New York Times bestsellers Payne Stewart: The Authorized Biography and Lt.Col Oliver North’s Mission Compromised and The Jericho Sanction. The company’s Holman Bible Publishers division, established in 1738, has developed the new Holman Christian Standard Bibleâ translation and is also the largest publisher of Spanish language Bibles in the United States.

Room of Marvels – by James Bryan Smith; ISBN 0-8054-2784-8; trade paper; 160 pages; $9.99


About the Author:

James Bryan Smith teaches theology at Friends University in Wichita, Kansas. His previous books include Embracing the Love of God, A Spiritual Formation Workbook, and Devotional Classics (co-authored with Richard Foster), and the Broadman & Holman book Rich Mullins: An Arrow Pointing to Heaven. Jim lives in Wichita, Kansas, with his wife, Meghan, and their two children, Jacob and Hope.

Suggested Interview Questions for James Bryan Smith, author of Room of Marvels

1. The main character in Room of Marvels is struggling with the recent deaths of his mother, a young daughter, and a close friend, just as you have in real life. Can you talk about your own story and how it led to writing this book?

2. The book vividly details a dream in which main character Tim Hudson visits Heaven. Are you writing from experience there; have you ever dreamt that intensely about the afterlife?

3. Tim’s main tour guide through Heaven is Wayne, his musician friend who represents your bond with the late Rich Mullins (writer of “Awesome God”). How did that real-life friendship come about, and are the conversations in the book indicative of your time on earth together?

4. Your description of Heaven is intriguing: there are seasons, a kind of music that no one has ever heard before, sense-heightening food, talking animals, flowers that follow your movements. How much of this interpretation is poetic license, and how much is informed by what the Bible says?

5. Tim Hudson also meets his literary hero, C.S. Lewis, during his visit to Heaven. I understand that you are a Lewis fan and that Room of Marvels is written much in the same spirit as his classic, The Great Divorce. What are the similarities, and how do the books differ?

6. Tim encounters two objects, a wand and a mask, that represent his inability to really experience what Heaven has to offer. Tell us more about those things and their role in telling this story?

7. There’s a sense of mystery regarding what a “room of marvels” is until two-thirds of the way through the book. Do you want to explain what the title means or just have people read the book?

8. In the afterword, Dallas Willard writes candidly about the extreme struggle and sadness that even Christian people face when it comes to the death of loved ones. He says, “Christians…know the glorious words of Christ and his people about their future life in the presence of God. But frankly, few really believe them.” What are your feelings about that statement?

9. Room of Marvels ends with Tim Hudson awake on Earth, and back to his everyday life; growing his family, and sharing his renewed passion for what God has promised. Is that reflective of you today; have you been able to work past some of your earlier struggles?

10. Finally, what do you want readers to take away with them after reading Room of Marvels?