THE MINISTER'S WIFE

Warm, witty and achingly honest, The Minister's Wife is a memoir in essays on choosing to belong. As Karen Stiller shares her own deep-from-the-heart experiences as a minister's wife, she welcomes us to join her on a rich, difficult, yet ultimately grace-filled spiritual adventure.

Order Book

"In this winsome memoir, Karen Stiller hospitably welcomes us into her life as a minister’s wife, courageously revealing struggles and challenges all of us will recognize, even if we don’t live in similar fishbowls of scrutiny. With humor and transparency, Karen names aloud the kinds of thoughts, doubts, and failures we’re often reluctant to confess, and she gently reminds us that we share this ordinary and rare, messy and grace-filled life together. What a gift."

Sharon Garlough Brown

Author of the Sensible Shoes and Shades of Light series

"Honest. Realistic. Heartwarming and encouraging. You will laugh and cry and identify with Karen Stiller in her walk with Jesus as The Minister’s Wife."

Charleen Anderson

"Karen Stiller has written exquisitely and powerfully about life. Her honesty will both surprise and encourage you and you will be refreshed by her lack of platitude or cliché or religious jargon."

Gordon T. Smith

"Well-written and captivating, Karen answers many questions that will help others see ministry as more beautiful than brutal."

Margaret GIbb

"I’m struck by the quiet revelation of Stiller’s book. This is the kind of truth we need to celebrate. It’s calm and not at all titillating. In old Bible language, you might describe the book as honest, virtuous, and lovely. It has the added bonus of making ministers and their spouses not sound more spiritual than Jesus."

Tamara Hill Murphy

"Mark and I laughed, sighed, and sometimes cringed as we, through Karen’s vivid stories, relived many of our own experiences in pastoral ministry."

Mark & Cheryl Buchanan

"Transparent and vulnerable, funny and wise, uplifting and moving, it is a joy to read. If you are a minister’s wife or a minister, you will see yourself in the pages of this book."

Ken and Sakiko Shigematsu

"Karen Stiller skillfully and wholeheartedly draws the reader into her day to day experiences, pointing always to trust God to lead and carry us."

Alison Beach

Read The Publisher's Weekly review here.

Read the Englewood Review of Books review here.

Karen Stiller never expected to be a minister’s wife. And the life she discovered was more challenging—and more beautiful—than she could have anticipated.

We all wrestle with tough questions about life and faith, and Karen Stiller has learned that answers don’t come any easier when you’re married to the minister. What does it mean to live faithfully in our complicated world? Is there a place here for me—the real me? What does everyone expect of me, and what if I fail? In The Minister’s Wife, Karen shines a light on the rhythms and tough realities of the spiritual life for each and every one of us. She explores how community helps us grow; the unexpected beauty of doubt; the messy pain of families and funerals; how church can hurt and heal; and the beauty of showing up when sometimes it is more appealing to go to a coffee shop on a Sunday morning (even when you’re the pastor’s wife).