Crushed by a violent, anti-Semitic world and a troubled alcoholic father, Phillip Cohen begins searching early in life for healing and love. It’s a journey through…

• Growing up in an abusive, dysfunctional Jewish family
• Surviving violent neighborhoods in Chicago, Atlanta, and Miami
• Wandering homeless, living in hippie communes and trying to destroy himself with hard drugs
• Enduring dark, ultra-conservative Anabaptist churches
• Experiencing shallow, mainstream Christianity

God often isn’t in the places where Phillip thinks God (or godlike substitutes) should be. Yet God appears in ways Phillip never expects to meet him. In his youth, Phil turns to stealing, running away, drugs, religion . . . anything to escape the pain from the troubled father who’s brutalizing him, his mother, and two siblings, and violent neighborhoods he’s living in. Then, while attending school in Mexico, he sees something he wants but doesn’t know how to get:

People living in deep poverty yet are happy and content.

Soon he dives headlong into the hippie culture, drugs, rock festivals, and communes. This causes a growing rage inside that he can’t contain. For a few years, he wanders alone, broke, and homeless around the US, Mexico, and Canada. Then he sees it again:

Happy families that love each other.

A little country Bible church in the poorest county in Tennessee appears to be what Phil and his young bride, Gina, are searching for. It seems to meet their needs—until the church falls apart, splitting families, while their man-made rules become too suffocating to endure.

The search continues….

Join this amazing journey where, despite his efforts to find God, Phillip often finds himself in unexpected places where God’s presence is unexpected. An unforgettable exploration of faith, identity, and the profound pursuit of purpose—a journey guided by the light of Jesus shining through it all. One that will leave you questioning your own beliefs and longing for the transformative power of love.

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