"Every man, every woman," Edward Abbey has written, "carries in heart and mind the image of the ideal place, the right place, the one true home, known or unknown, actual or visionary." In The Longing for Home Presbyterian minister Frederick Buechner, author of 27 works of fiction and nonfiction, shares some of the stories and feelings connected to the homes he has known and imagined over his nearly 70 years.

Buechner writes reflectively about houses in Vermont and the domicile of his maternal grandmother which served as a safe haven for him during a troubled childhood. He also uses a biography of a place, a letter to his grandson, and poetry to get at the treasure trove of meaning connected with home. True to his tradition, Buechner also meditates on the ways in which Jesus Christ helps us access "a vision of wholeness that we sense in our true home."