‘From Church Pew to City Hall’ Named One of the Top Summer Reads of 2026

Today I received a phone call that I will carry with me for a long time. I was told that my new book, From Church Pew to City Hall: A Journey to Stewardship, has been included on a Summer 2026 reading list curated by a regional women’s veterans auxiliary. The moment felt deeply humbling, deeply personal, and honestly difficult to put into words. Veterans have always held a special place in my heart, which made that call mean even more to me.

For me, writing this book was never just about publishing something new. It was about giving shape to conviction, memory, faith, hope, and lived purpose. It was about putting into words what I believe matters, not only for personal life, but for public life as well. That is why this recognition touched me so deeply. To learn that this book has been chosen as part of what people may be reading this summer is not something I take lightly. I receive it with gratitude, and I receive it as one of those rare moments that brings me back to the reason I wrote this book in the first place.

I wrote From Church Pew to City Hall because I believe America is worth loving, worth studying, and worth stewarding. I believe faith matters. I believe citizenship matters. I believe public trust matters. As America approaches its 250th anniversary, I also believe this is a meaningful moment to reflect more seriously on what it means to inherit freedom and what it means to carry that inheritance with gratitude, courage, and responsibility.

For me, this book is not simply about politics, and it is not simply about history. It is about stewardship. It is about the movement from private conviction to public responsibility. It follows Daniel as he moves through places that symbolize the shaping of character, citizenship, and moral seriousness. At its heart, this book wrestles with a question that matters deeply to me: what does it mean to live faithfully after receiving something valuable?

That question has stayed with me because I do not believe freedom sustains itself. I do not believe healthy communities happen by accident. I do not believe faith should remain confined to private language with no connection to service, responsibility, sacrifice, or public life. I believe stewardship requires gratitude. I believe it requires discipline. I believe it requires honesty. I believe it requires courage. I believe it requires a willingness to contribute something larger than personal comfort or personal ambition. That conviction is the heartbeat of this book.

Seeing From Church Pew to City Hall included on a summer reading list at this particular moment feels especially meaningful to me. Summer carries a certain American spirit that I have always loved. I think of memory, gathering, reflection, celebration, and movement. I think of the kind of season that makes room for deeper thought about what matters most, what has been inherited, and what should be passed on. For this book to become part of that moment during Summer 2026 means a great deal to me.

I am also honored by the company this book is keeping. To be included on a list that also features J.D. Vance’s upcoming book, Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith, is genuinely exciting to me. Any moment that brings faith, restoration, meaning, and moral direction back into public conversation gets my attention. I believe there is a real hunger right now for that kind of reflection. I believe there is a hunger for more than noise, more than performance, and more than empty reaction. I believe there is still a hunger for depth, clarity, and moral seriousness.

More than anything, this recognition encourages me. It reminds me that there is still room for serious, hopeful, faith-rooted writing that speaks to both personal restoration and public life. It reminds me that stewardship still resonates. It reminds me that books can still call hearts and minds toward deeper reflection on identity, conviction, responsibility, and purpose.

I am incredibly thankful for this moment. I am excited for Summer 2026. I am excited for America 250. And I am deeply grateful that From Church Pew to City Hall: A Journey to Stewardship is finding its place in this cultural moment.

For me, this is more than a milestone. It is a reminder that the message still matters, the work still matters, and by God’s grace, the journey is still unfolding.