Jock’s Journey is the story of how one man declined a future forged in steel to become a kind of missionary in a culture cheerfully unpicking its Christian heritage as well as closing all its traditional heavy industry. It is the story of how one man had to dodge his family and the people who kept on trying to fix his career, while Scotland was struggling to discern its future relationship to England. It is the story of how one man used to managing projects and people learned to write poetry which walks humbly into the world’s living room and waits for a response. This book by a minister and makar will jostle your view of preachers, poetry, politics and piety.

“Guides us through the second half of the 20th century . . . from Scotland to Africa, Eastern Europe and other places . . .his spiritual growth opens like a flower in the course of the journey, expressing itself in different ways as the years go by to the present day and its flowering in his life as a poet.”   Irene Howat

“A study of faith, fate and destiny. The author pioneered activities in publishing, work overseas, youth work, and in civic and parish church life. This book will catch your attention from the beginning, and will stimulate reflection on your own life.”   John Miller

“He tells the stories of his life, making a web of connections between those stories, his Christian faith, and his understanding and practice of poetry. This could be a lethally tedious or smug combination, but far from it: the author is much more fascinated by the world and the people he encounters than by himself. The result is a book full of insight, incident and ideas, which had me pausing to reflect on numerous occasions.”   James Robertson

“Jock Stein meditates on ‘the truth of his life’, from the death of his father when he was twelve, on to his life as a missionary and Church of Scotland minister . . . Jock tells a lifetime of stories in prose and poetry, punctuated by his wife Margaret’s beautiful line drawings.”   Catherine Simpson