Fishers, IN Author Explores Faith, Purpose, and Christian Service

Dorrance Publishing Co., Inc. announces the release of "I Have My Mission" by John Tarbox, a novel that explores faith, vocation, leadership, and the challenges that arise when spiritual aspirations meet everyday human realities.

This story centers on Jake Bloom, whose spiritual life is renewed after he reluctantly attends a Catholic retreat. His experience sets him on a deeper journey of faith, and during a later period of discernment, Jake senses a call to become a leader in the Church.

As retirement from a lengthy government career approaches, Jake searches for a meaningful way to answer that call. An attempt at graduate theological education does not develop as he expects, but another opportunity emerges when St. James Catholic Church confronts serious financial problems. Jake ultimately accepts the position of business manager and begins what he believes is his mission.

This work is shaped in part by a reflection attributed in the novel to John Henry Cardinal Newman: that every person has a mission and is created to perform some "definite service." That idea becomes an important point of reflection for Jake as he tries to discern how his professional abilities might serve his faith.

Yet his new role introduces him to the less idealized side of institutional life. Financial pressures, competing priorities, difficult personalities, relationships, temptation, and questions of conscience complicate the seemingly straightforward idea of serving God.

Through Jake and the people surrounding St. James, "I Have My Mission" considers the intersection of Catholic faith and ordinary responsibilities. Rather than separating spiritual questions from daily life, the novel places those questions amid offices, meetings, budgets, families, friendships, and moral decisions.

"I Have My Mission" is a 286-page paperback with a retail price of $21.00 (eBook $16.00, audiobook $20.00). The ISBN is 979-8-90297-107-8. Published by Dorrance Publishing Co., Inc. of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. For members of the press, to request a review copy or author interview, please visit https://bookstore.dorrancepublishing.com/pages/media-requests or to buy the book, visit our online bookstore at https://bookstore.dorrancepublishing.com/products/i-have-my-mission . For more information on publishing services, please visit https://www.dorrancepublishing.com/