They Call Me Jabe tells the tale of a young man of Appalachian heritage who has many strange and unexpected encounters with grace. From drug addiction at a young age, to becoming an ordained United Methodist pastor, to battling with depression, the author provides an authentic, candid, and sometimes comical look at his life as he chronicles his journey from his native land to other communities and environments outside of Appalachia. A string that runs throughout Jabe's story is that of untimely death. He introduces to us many of the people he has called family and friend, who meet an early demise because of substance abuse or other forms of tragedy. With a lack of sentimentality and a brutal honesty, Jabe's story is one that is deeply moving, while also proving to be uncomfortably challenging at times. Topics such as mass incarceration, corporate greed, mental health, and addiction are taken head on in a theological and cultural commentative way, in the context of one life, lived, full of grace, pain, hope, and heartache.
