A couple of years ago, my friend and my colleague Dennis Welch began sending me email missives, chapters of a book he was writing based on a weekly conversation he had with his mother. Funny, heartbreaking, and impossible to put down, I found myself searching my inbox for the latest installment. When one was late, I picked up the phone and insisted that he find time to write the next piece so that I would know how it all came out in the end.

I am happy to report that those chapters will be available to readers everywhere this fall. RICH PEOPLE SHOP HERE: A Tale of Love, Redemption, and Bargain Hunting is the story of Patsy Welch, whose first 80 years have been filled with sadness, struggle, alcohol, death, and divorce. But that’s not the way Patsy sees it. In the face of obstacles that would make others crumble, Patsy met adversity with a faith so strong and friendships so resilient it will forever change the way you see the world.

Oh, it’s also hilariously funny, with Patsy a perfect mix of Southern Belle and Lucille Ball. Forever short on maps and directions, she could turn a car ride to church into a rolling adventure for her three sons or a trip to the grocery store a near tragedy when she picked up the necessities, went to retrieve her car and proceeded to drive home leaving the food and one of her young boys behind. As I said to Dennis, “you couldn’t possibly make up this stuff.”

George Gallup Jr., co-founder of the Gallup Organization where Dennis worked for over a decade, calls it “the ultimate tale of triumph.” Carolyn Castleberry, a reporter for the Christian Broadcasting Network, says it reminds us that “no challenge can extinguish hope.”

You can pre-order a copy now. Stay tuned, I’ll keep you posted on critic and reader response.