Praying the Hours

At the beginning of the epic feature Praying the Hours, the Traveling Man dies in an accident caused by someone he trusts and loves. During the time it takes for him to cross from this life to the next, he visits eight friends with whom he has surprising unresolved business. He sees their lives from the vantage point of eternity, giving him glimpses of beauty and struggle that mirror his own. His journey culminates in a wedding where he views his own life with tender grace—just as he is leaving it. His bittersweet tale, imagined from real events, allows us to see how hard times and even death can make way for transcendence.

Praying The Hours uses story to reconsider the ancient practice of fixed-hour prayer observed by the Abrahamic faith traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It does this by imagining each prayer as a character encountered by the Traveling Man. Through their stories, he learns that eternity is not something that happens after you die, but a river that flows under the surface of ordinary life.