This Far by Faith

Book excerpt: Through reports nationwide, including the Wall Street Journal and TV news, Americans are discovering Faith Fowler's ideas for transforming lives in Detroit, Known for her deep faith and creative ideas, Faith serves as one of the city's leading pastors and as a nonprofit entrepreneur. As a co-founder of a wide array of Cass startups, Faith and her Cass community are turning one of the nation's most impoverished urban centers into a gold mine of talent and resources. Now, Faith Fowler shares dozens of inspiring true stories of men and women who found new hope and were able to join in building a healthier community through Cass. Mitch Albom says: "The world waits for people like Faith Fowler. ... This memoir, like the author herself, is funny, poignant, moving, beautifully staged and oozing with a commitment to a simple yet profound idea: that other people are worth the trouble." From turning trash heaps of old tires into a stylish line of sandals to a host of other startup businesses, Faith's work at Cass already has drawn nationwide attention. Headlines have chronicled her innovative ideas and her infectious belief that each and every life is valuable, despite the ravages of homelessness, addiction and violence. In this book, she shares the best of this inspiring community through stories of lives renewed and transformed. This is the first book published by Faith Fowler's latest entrepreneurial venture. Cass Community Publishing House is the first interfaith publishing house established in the city of Detroit in more than two centuries-since Father Gabriel Richard, a Catholic priest and co-founder of the University of Michigan, hauled the first printing press into Detroit and invited his Presbyterian friend the Rev. John Monteith to publish with him. Like Richard and Monteith before her, Faith Fowler's work is one reason that Detroit is recognized as a center of hope for those who believe peace is possible in our ever-more-diverse world. Mitch Albom urges: "Everyone, religious or not, should read these pages."