Set in a small rural town in Texas, a young boy and his brother gradually learn to accept their step-father after their own daddy dies, learn to let him step into the role of friend and provider, learn to let him love them.

"I was the weaker brother. The skinny one. The split end, not the tight end. Daddy Robert was driving me to one of my football games when he patted my leg. He said, 'You know, you are really strong.' What? The words took me by surprise. I looked up at him.... Something surged in my veins. He believed".

In quiet, subtle ways the characters change before our eyes.

"He was Joseph, the father of Christ -- the imperfect man for the thankless job. The one thrown into the river at midstream and asked to keep everyone else afloat". In his simple yet carefully measured style, Sawyer offers insights that make the reading of this book both a pleasant journey through nostalgia and a deep spiritual experience.

Earthly Fathers is a powerful book, one that will surprise and delight, a book that will be passed from friend to friend.