New Books Network

Lara Silverman, "Singing Through Fire: A Memoir of Finding Surprising Joy in Life's Darkest Trials" (Isaiah 4320 Press, 2025)


Listen Later

What if you fall in love on the brink of death? Singing Through Fire (Isaiah 4320 Press, 2025) invites readers into the Job-like true story of a young woman who loses everything-and dares to ask why a good God allows it. When Stanford Law graduate Lara Palanjian collapses on her dream job, she never imagines it will lead to four years bedridden-or to the love of her life. Enter Matthew Silverman: a witty, wise, and impossibly joyful youth pastor and professor facing terminal cancer. What begins with a few random encounters soon ignites an extraordinary, God-written love story that neither of them saw coming. As their unlikely romance unfolds between medical crises, late-night laughter, and unexpected musical performances, Matthew's unshakable faith challenges everything Lara thinks she knows about God's goodness-and what it means to walk with Christlike faith, resilience, and joy in the face of overwhelming grief and suffering. But with time against them, one question looms louder than the rest: What if this gift is only for a moment? Surprisingly funny and spiritually rich, Singing Through Fire is a modern-day "Job meets Lucille Ball." It explores what it means to suffer, love, and even laugh and make music while your life is burning down around you. It eloquently gives voice to the aching questions many sufferers quietly carry-then takes readers inside the breathtaking story of two people who found miraculous love and defiant joy amid heartbreaking loss. It reveals how God can use even our deepest pain to write the most beautiful love stories-even on the cusp of eternity.
Find and follow Lara on IG: here

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

New Books NetworkBy New Books

  • 4.3
  • 4.3
  • 4.3
  • 4.3
  • 4.3

4.3

141 ratings


More shows like New Books Network

View all
The New Yorker: Fiction by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

The New Yorker: Fiction

3,357 Listeners

The LRB Podcast by The London Review of Books

The LRB Podcast

290 Listeners

In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,545 Listeners

New Books in Critical Theory by Marshall Poe

New Books in Critical Theory

146 Listeners

History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps by Peter Adamson

History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps

1,603 Listeners

Backlisted by Backlisted

Backlisted

598 Listeners

London Review Bookshop Podcast by London Review Bookshop

London Review Bookshop Podcast

128 Listeners

Philosophy Bites by Edmonds and Warburton

Philosophy Bites

1,537 Listeners

The History of Literature by Jacke Wilson / The Podglomerate

The History of Literature

1,107 Listeners

The TLS Podcast by The TLS

The TLS Podcast

184 Listeners

Why Theory by Why Theory

Why Theory

587 Listeners

What's Left of Philosophy by Lillian Cicerchia, Owen Glyn-Williams, Gil Morejón, and William Paris

What's Left of Philosophy

277 Listeners

Ones and Tooze by Foreign  Policy

Ones and Tooze

344 Listeners

Close Readings by London Review of Books

Close Readings

79 Listeners

Past Present Future by David Runciman

Past Present Future

324 Listeners