What others are saying about A Tale of Two Trees…
More than anything, this book is an invitation to the reader to embark on holy pilgrimage with a band of fellow travelers— to share conversation, tears, laughter, insights, and story, and to become friends along the way. Buoyed by a bright poignancy and full of gentle insight, A Tale of Two Trees will reward readers willing to travel the footpaths of these essays at a wondering, pondering pace.
Rarely do we see a rich book companion full of wisdom from a collection of thoughtful writers alongside an equally brilliant and melodically well-crafted album! Often, when we hear a record we love, we build a connection with it after repeated listens, longing for more because the music becomes a friend of sorts. Matthew Clark gives us a scratch for our itch, a place to dive into when the pull of curiosity meets our deep connection to the music.
The centrality of the Psalms in Christian life and liturgy over the centuries reminds us that the very best sort of theology is the sort that captures our imagination, engaging our hearts as well as our minds. In a similar vein, these songs and the stories that accompany them transport us authentically into the snarl-up of good and evil that grow up alongside each other in the life of faith, making faith-keeping a matter of struggle and suffering. According to Scottish theologian Thomas Erskine of Linlathen, God came to be with us in Christ not so that we might not have to suffer, but so that our suffering would be made one with his and occasioned by the same struggles. Matthew Clark and friends deserve our thanks for clothing these words with flesh and giving them a pulse, showing us how this reality plays out in the exigencies of actual Christian living.
With characteristic wisdom and grace and honesty in the midst of struggle, Matthew Clark invites us to go on pilgrimage with him and his friends. Even by the rivers of Babylon, the lover sings.
A Tale of Two Trees is not a throwback to Tolkien but to much earlier—all the way to The Beginning, and the family trees that we can choose. In word and song, and with a pile of friends, Matthew Clark narrates our daily choices to live into a ground system of small evils or to be grafted into a great Family Tree of Life. Neither will keep us from suffering, but in one we will be companioned. Will we listen to the wild song that beckons?
They say that beginnings and endings are the hardest parts of writing a good story, a good song, a good movie. That may be true for art, but for life, it’s the middle part that’s often the hardest. Frequently, it’s the middle part where we lose the plot of our lives and wander into dead and deadening ends. But if we know to Whom we belong, we won’t get completely lost, I don’t think, even if we can’t see the way forward. Matthew Clark and his marvelous family of friends invite us on a beautiful journey of song and story that enables us to feel lovingly found in the middle of things, and to know all will be well in the end by God’s grace. That’s good news that many of us need to hear today.
Book One (and album) of The Well Trilogy, Only the Lover Sings, is available now on Amazon and all your favorite streaming services!
What others are saying about Only the Lover Sings…
Clark’s craftsmanship, alongside his ability to draw out the passion of others, achieves for him a fresh vision where healing and joy can be known after loss and pain and failure. Take up and read. Open and listen… Come and see. You may find your own dark ladder downward leading you out onto a surprising open plain of possibility and light.
If you’ve ever found yourself held back in life by your own doubt, fear, or shame, you know there are three kinds of friends—and three kinds of books—that can help you. One reaches in and pulls you out. The other just sits by your side and understands. ‘Only the Lover Sings’ is the rarest: it sits with you, and shares the kind of lived hope you can’t shrug off.
The collection shines with variations on a theme, and the whole is so much greater than the sum of its parts. Matthew Clark joins the ranks of George Macdonald, G. K. Chesterton, C. S. Lewis, and others who connect head with heart, reason with imagination, and scripture with hard-won experience. The result is both a feast and a fellowship. I love it.
Matthew’s work has long been tender, unique, vulnerable, and heartening. But in this latest project, he’s collaborated with writers who thoughtfully interact with each main theme Matthew introduces. The resulting work is prismatic and harmonious, the fruit of faith in community. In these lonely, fragmented times, it’s hopeful and healing to encounter their chorus of gentle and honest reflection. I think you’re going to love Matthew’s record. I think you’re also going to love what a group of friends has grown from his roots.
‘Am I loved?’ There are many reasons, in a world pocked by cruelty and tragedy, that the answer to that question can be profoundly difficult to find. In this beautiful book of song and Scripture, essay and story, Matthew Clark helps his readers to the healing, redemptive, life-forming answer to that burning question by showing us that with God, ‘belovedness is our starting point’.
As a teenager and young adult, I filled many happy hours reading liner notes, copying lyrics into my journal, and exploring the credits of my favorite records. Streaming music online is robbing a generation of these delightful, tangible experiences. In this album-book combo, Clark has coupled thoughtful meditations with songs that are a balm to my heart. This project is biblically rich, poetic, and honest. And, I am so glad I can find myself once again copying down lyrics into my journal!
Matthew Clark is a singer/songwriter and storyteller from Mississippi. He has recorded several full length albums, including a Bible walk-through called “Bright Came the Word from His Mouth” and “Beautiful Secret Life.” Matthew hosts a weekly podcast, “One Thousand Words – Stories on the Way”, featuring essays reflecting on faith-keeping. A touring musician and speaker, Matthew travels sharing songs and stories. Whether it’s a song, podcast, meal, or an essay, Matthew loves to “make things that make room for people to meet Jesus.”
“The Well Trilogy” is Matthew’s current project: 3 full-length album/book combos releasing over 3 years. Each installment is made up of 11 songs and a companion book of 13 essays written by a variety of contributors exploring themes around encountering Jesus, faith-keeping, and the return of Christ.
Part One, “Only the Lover Sings” & Part Two, “A Tale of Two Trees” are available everywhere now!
Part Three, “Where the River Goes” is coming in 2024
