I’m a big fan of a strong first sentence. Most people (or at least most English majors) can quote the opening of Pride and Prejudice: “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” From college, I still recall Dr. Gilman’s comparison of one of Henry James’ ponderous opening sentences with that of Edith Wharton’s House of Mirth, which reads simply: “Selden paused in surprise.” In this century, we have the incomparable Ann Patchett, whose Commonwealth begins: “The christening party took a turn when Albert Cousins arrived with gin.” Draws you right in, doesn’t it?

In my books, I try to start each chapter with something short and punchy. (With a word-count target of 600, I don’t have time to ease into the topic!) So, with one week to go until Finding God Abiding comes into the world, I thought we’d have a little fun. Here are the twenty-eight opening lines. Which is your favorite? What piques your interest? If you were to read a chapter on the basis of the first sentence alone, which would it be?

I’d love to hear your responses! Leave a reply below. (And, you know, get yourself a copy so you can see how it ends.)

May Love Abide,
Christine

1. Reading was not Christopher’s thing.
2. I’ve been a dogged journal-keeper for most of my adult life.
3. “How can I feel so miserably poor and embarrassingly rich at the same time?”
4. “There’s no reason for them to blow that siren anymore,” my neighbor insisted.
5. I recall almost nothing about the conference.
6. “It’s Teeny-Weeny String Beanie!”
7. The summer I turned five, I went on my first extended-family vacation to Wildwood.
8. “Oh, rats! I think I’m supposed to be a nun.”
9. Despite wondering about a religious vocation at the end of eighth grade, nothing about my teenage years suggested a career in ministry.
10. A graduate student with a wedding ring was hit by a car on the sidewalk, rushed to the emergency room, and whisked into surgery.
11. The tantalizing aroma arrested our steps in front of a Greek restaurant on South Street.
12. When I finally landed the job of my dreams in campus ministry, my joy was quickly tempered.
13. When I was thirty, after several years of increasing strife between us, my husband took a job on the other side of the globe.
14. The biggest problem with having unauthorized cats is that you can’t call the landlord.
15. The dress caught my eye as it waved in the breeze of a summer garage sale.
16. It was peach season at the Jersey shore.
17. I had never cut class before.
18. Liz had no idea how she was going to pay for college.
19. I was in the car with my brother Stephen’s new boyfriend, John.
20. The dog I love most in the world just turned seven.
21. When I was little, my grandmother taught me how to eat a strawberry.
22. Hannah could not stop crying.
23. Mary Ellen had raised six children on her own.
24. The present that had thrilled my little brother the day before was making him miserable already.
25. After nearly ten years in my first campus ministry position, I reached a heart-wrenching insight during my summer retreat.
26. I stood at the water’s edge with my back to the beach, tears streaming down my face.
27. I flipped on the bathroom light in dismay.
28. The text from our cousin caught my brother and me completely by surprise.