2018 Christian Book Award ®: Biography & Memoir Finalists

A trailblazer in the civil rights movement, John M. Perkins led voter registration efforts in 1964, worked for school desegregation in 1967, and was jailed and tortured in 1970. He is no less zealous today as he sees a new generation of freedom fighters battling the same issues and the same systems he has spent his life working to correct.

Through his raw, personal stories spanning from the civil rights era to today, Perkins shows us that, though the fight is not over, there are many reasons to hope and to carry on the good work he and his contemporaries began more than a generation ago. He calls us to work for justice by living out God's redemptive love in all our relationships.

"It all comes down to love," he says. "Love will always be our final fight."

Get out! Run! We must leave this place! They are going to destroy this whole place! Go, children, run first! Go now!

These were the final shouts nine year-old Kim Phuc heard before her world dissolved into flames-before napalm bombs fell from the sky, burning away her clothing and searing deep into her skin. It's a moment forever captured, an iconic image that has come to define the horror and violence of the Vietnam War. Kim was left for dead in a morgue; no one expected her to survive the attack. Napalm meant fire, and fire meant death.

Against all odds, Kim lived-but her journey toward healing was only beginning. When the napalm bombs dropped, everything Kim knew and relied on exploded along with them: her home, her country's freedom, her childhood innocence and happiness. The coming years would be marked by excruciating treatments for her burns and unrelenting physical pain throughout her body, which were constant reminders of that terrible day. Kim survived the pain of her body ablaze, but how could she possibly survive the pain of her devastated soul?

Fire Road is the true story of how she found the answer in a God who suffered Himself; a Savior who truly understood and cared about the depths of her pain. Fire Road is a story of horror and hope, a harrowing tale of a life changed in an instant-and the power and resilience that can only be found in the power of God's mercy and love.

Many said the 500-mile Camino de Santiago would be impossible in a wheelchair. But best friends Justin and Patrick wouldn't give up. Their six-week trek with its physical challenges, colorful characters, and deep inner battles, would prove to be the most difficult and important journey either of them would ever take. I'll Push You is the real-life story of their incredible pilgrimage--and the friendship that carried them through.

The revolutionary marriage of Martin and Katharina Luther is arguably one of the most intriguing relationships of all time. Offering insights into Christian history and illuminating their profound impact on the institution of matrimony, this riveting biography illustrates how, against all odds, their unlikely union worked---blossoming over time into the most tender of love stories. 320 pages, hardcover from Baker.

This brief, insightful biography of Martin Luther strips away the myths surrounding the Reformer to offer a more nuanced account of his life and ministry. Coinciding with the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, this accessible yet robustly historical and theological work highlights the medieval background of Luther's life in contrast to contemporary legends. Internationally respected church historian Volker Leppin explores the Catholic roots of Lutheran thought and locates Luther's life in the unfolding history of 16th-century Europe.

Russ Ramsey contracted a sudden bacterial infection that damaged his mitral valve, sending him into heart failure and requiring urgent open-heart surgery. Facing the possibility of death, Ramsey's eyes opened to new truths about life, faith, and affliction. In Struck, he shares his journey while pondering the deepest questions we face. Even still, in the midst of suffering, we can see glimpses of eternity. Paperback.