The Query is a collection of stories - stories of hope - arising from a simple question: "What is the reason for the hope that is within you?"

They were gathered through chance encounters with strangers across America: on airplanes, in restaurants or cafés, at a car dealership, in a jury waiting room.

The stories are as diverse as the storytellers: a teen anticipating senior prom in the arms of her first love; a crusty construction superintendent; an engaging nuclear physicist; a widow scarred by life, with no hope; a Catholic priest on assignment in Rome; a long-haul truck driver; an Army colonel with tours in Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan; a seasoned executive in the twilight of career; a thrice-married divorcee yearning for another chance; an eager young Polish immigrant, now a Fortune 500 engineer; and many more.

Listeners eavesdrop on deeply personal conversations as stories unfold. They are struck by a sad truth when Todd, the bankruptcy attorney and attentive husband in the story "Everything Changed", shares: "I've been reflecting that we don't really take the time to listen to people anymore."

Often the stories turn to matters of faith. Some story tellers found hope through church in the middle of despair. For others, church or religion was a source of hurt, leading the author to observe: "I wonder. How would a faith community - a church, a mosque, a synagogue, a temple - be perceived differently if it became known above all as the people who listen, and not the people who preach?"