From The Press Release:

In the tradition of The Celestine Prophecy, bestselling author Michael Gurian’s THE MIRACLE (Atria Books, May 22, 2003, $13.00) delivers a gripping combination of suspense and spirituality.  This visionary novel brilliantly juxtaposes the spiritual awakening of residents in a small town with the hunt for a notorious child murderer.

Beth Carey, THE MIRACLE’s compassionate heroine, works as a nurse in Spokane, Washington.  In her twenty-nine years, she has led a perfectly ordinary life.  Well, almost ordinary—as a child, Beth showed flashes of psychic ability.  Although her powers have faded away with adulthood, Beth enjoys a special friendship with Jeffrey, a six-year-old boy who also possesses mysterious gifts. 

The miracle of the book’s title occurs when Jeffrey is fatally hit by a car.  Thirteen people, including Beth, see a strange light appear over the scene of the accident.  Whatever the light is—and the witnesses come to no consensus except that something extraordinary has happened—it seems to awaken Beth’s long-dormant powers of clairvoyance.  Driven by powers she can neither control nor understand, Beth plunges into a series of wondrous and bewildering episodes.

As if in a dream, Beth suddenly knows that Jeffrey’s grief-stricken father is about to commit suicide—and then, by telepathic suggestion, she is able to convince him otherwise.  Hours later, Beth shows up at a neighbor’s house, informing him that his deceased parents wish to speak to their son.

One of Beth’s visions leads her to Donnell Wight, a wealthy cancer patient who has chosen to wait out death in isolation, holed up in his cliffside estate.  Although they are strangers, Donnell is not surprised by Beth’s unannounced visit.  Their meeting, he tells Beth, was foretold by a saint he met in India, years before.  He goes on to explain that Indian mystics have for centuries predicted the evolution of “the new human,” a transcendent being who can see the light of the Infinite.  Donnell believes Beth is such a being.

Beth’s journey into light is paralleled with the darker progression of the Watcher.  This hooded, cryptic figure is already responsible for the disappearances of three children.  Like Beth, the Watcher also experiences mystical visions, but his ravaged psyche perverts these visions into justifications for murder.  When Beth “sees” his next killing, the stage is set for an epic confrontation, with a child’s life—and the spiritual destiny of mankind—hanging in the balance.

As THE MIRACLE builds toward a nail-biting climax, we meet the other people who witnessed “the light” on that fateful day—and were transformed as a result.  Among them: Nathan, a man of science who insists on a rational explanation for the miracle; Alex, a teenager who has recently converted to Islam; and Annie, a young woman who is slowly becoming paralyzed due to a spinal injury.

Skillfully interweaving several plotlines and characters over a 48-hour span, THE MIRACLE presents a cross-section of humanity in transition.  Gifted author Michael Gurian is as adept at capturing psychological nuance as he is describing religious rapture.  His masterful prose, previously featured in bestselling nonfiction books (The Wonder of Girls, The Soul of the Child), here serves a fascinating fusion of realistic fiction and spiritual allegory.

    Written with grit, lyricism, and compassion, THE MIRACLE is an unforgettable novel of spiritual adventure.  Fascinating and dramatic, it is a bold new addition to the growing genre of visionary fiction.   

MICHAEL GURIAN has published sixteen books in seven disciplines. He has authored four national bestsellers, translated into fourteen languages, including the ground-breaking The Wonder of Boys and The Wonder of Girls. The Miracle is his second novel. Michael lives in Spokane, Washington, with his wife, Gail and their two daughters.

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