Jan Karon is back, but not with a new book about everyone’s favorite small mountain town Mitford. Bathed in Prayer is a compilation of 30 years of laughter, tears, sermons, prayers, stories, Barnabas, Dooley, Cynthia, Father Tim, and everyone else who has come to make Mitford a town as real as most of the places we readers live.

Anyone who is a fan of Jan Karon’s books will appreciate this walk down the lane of memories, as she starts with At Home in Mitford and goes through the original Mitford series, on to the two novels that focus on Father Tim (Home to Holly Springs and In the Company of Others, not originally considered part of the series but they have since been folded in), and finishing with the last three Mitford novels that see a wedding for some of the most-loved characters in the series.

Anyone wanting an overview before committing to reading a series of 14 books can use this as a gauge of whether they’ll like Mitford or not. But if this is you, know that the shorter format leaves our a lot of the humor, love, and spirit of the town and its denizens. There is so much more to these novels than the handful of stories that you get here.

Bathed in Prayer takes us back through each story from the perspective of Father Tim’s prayers and sermons. These moments focus on many of the most emotional points in these novels, so you get a chance to revisit all the celebrations. The down side to this is that you also revisit the funerals, so if you listen to audiobooks in your car like I do, be prepare to find yourself crying as you drive home from work. Losing Miss Sadie all over again is heart-breaking, and then it’s Uncle Billy’s time. For this reason, there are times this book is painful. But even then, it’s so worth it to get a chance to head back to Mitford for a while.

I listened to this on audio, and not only do you get the iconic voice of John McDonough as Father Tim, you get to hear Jan Karon herself as she introduces each novel and reads an essay she wrote about her decision to start this series in the first place. The two voices together make this a truly beautiful experience, richer and more life-affirming than simply reading the words on the page. For me, it’s become the only way to experience a new Jan Karon book.