Those who have never had extended conversations with God, ranging from complaints and anger to love and joy, can draw upon a lifetime of such conversations as Countryman grapples with the reality of evil and loss, as well as hope for the fulfillment of life. The author takes liberties with the scriptures in order to explore them with new seriousness and argues with both God and scripture freely in the process. His poetic style takes its cue from the biblical poetry of the Psalms, Job, and the Song of Solomon, but moves freely in the realm of ordinary spoken English.