In the predawn hours, a woman's marriage crumbles with a single confession. Across town, an immigrant family struggles to get by in the land of opportunity. Three thousand miles away, a soldier wakes up in hospital with the vague feeling he's done something awful. In a single moment, these disparate lives intersect. Faced with seemingly insurmountable loss, each person must decide whether to give in to despair, or to find the courage and resilience to rise.

We Are Called to Riseis a story about a child's fate. It is a story about families - the ones we have and the ones we make. It challenges us to think about our responsibilities to each other while reminding us that compassion and charity can rescue even our darkest moments.

Laura McBride teaches English at the College of Southern Nevada, and has lived with her husband and children in Las Vegas for 25 years. She graduated in American Studies from Yale University, and wrote part of this novel while in residency at Yaddo.