A Place at the Table: Faith, Hope and Hospitality

Gold Medal Winner in Spiritual Memoir, 2023 Nautilus Book Awards

A Place at the Table is a profound book, lyrically written, and subversively humorous in its observation of daily life lived in community. Carved around the shape of a meal, the book is written in part by Miranda Harris, whose tragic death in 2019 was a shock to many around the world who found her approach to hospitality and community a life-long inspiration. Miranda’s daughter, Jo Swinney, writes alongside her, and together they explore the transformative way in which sharing food is at the heart of a shared life.

’The hope for this book is that you will be encouraged to make hospitality a more routine part of your life. That the pot on your stove will always be full enough to feed an extra mouth. That your schedule will have flexibility for an unplanned coffee and a chat. That your door will be often open and that, in all these small acts of welcome, you will see God at work, knitting you into closer, deeper and more life-giving relationships than you could have dreamed possible.’

Miranda Harris was a co founder of A Rocha. Married to Peter, she had four children and eight grandchildren. Miranda loved hosting the ever-expanding A Rocha family and was known for her prolific letter-writing, engaging communication style and ability to connect deeply with anyone she met. This is her first book.

Jo Swinney is Miranda’s eldest daughter and mother of two of her grandchildren. Jo wrote her first book in her twenties and has continued writing and editing books, articles, and Bible notes ever since. She has inherited her mother’s love of hospitality, food, and the God from whom all good gifts come.