09/08/2026
THE BOOK CIRCLE BOOK CLUB
EXCLUSIVE SEPTEMBER EDITION
FEATURED AUTHOR
CHAPLAIN TOM McQUEEN
ETHAN’S PRESENCE
How One Child Changed a Forgotten Life
Faith • Hope • Healing • Compassion • Forgiveness • Community • Human Connection
EDITOR’S CHOICE
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN ONE CHILD CHOOSES TO CARE?
Some stories entertain us.
Some stories inspire us.
And then there are stories that quietly challenge us to reconsider the way we see other people.
Ethan’s Presence — How One Child Changed a Forgotten Life is one of those stories.
Based upon a true story, Chaplain Tom McQueen's moving novel introduces readers to five year old Ethan Thomas McCallister, a bright and compassionate child whose simple acts of kindness begin to transform the life of Anna Miller, an elderly woman who has endured years of loneliness, regret, loss, and community rejection.
What begins as an unlikely connection becomes something much greater. Through Ethan's warmth, curiosity, and unconditional care, Anna begins to rediscover hope, healing, faith, and the courage to embrace life again.
At its heart, Ethan’s Presence asks a powerful question:
What difference can one person make when they simply choose to care?
ABOUT THE BOOK
Set in a small American town, Ethan’s Presence follows the relationship between five year old Ethan and Anna Miller, a woman who has spent years carrying the weight of loneliness and being forgotten.
Ethan does not approach Anna with judgment. He simply sees her.
His kindness becomes a source of light in a life that has experienced profound loss, reminding readers that compassion does not always require extraordinary actions. Sometimes, the smallest gestures can become the beginning of healing.
The story explores faith, forgiveness, loneliness, grief, community, and the power of human connection while offering an uplifting reminder that every life has value.
Though grounded in Christian values, the story carries a universal message about love, hope, redemption, and the responsibility we have toward one another.
WHY READERS WILL REMEMBER ETHAN’S PRESENCE
✓ A Story That Inspires
The book reminds readers that kindness still matters, particularly in a world that can often feel divided and disconnected.
✓ A Celebration of Compassion
Ethan's relationship with Anna demonstrates the extraordinary impact that compassion, respect, and genuine human connection can have.
✓ A Meaningful Book Club Selection
Themes of faith, loneliness, healing, forgiveness, community, and human connection provide rich opportunities for discussion.
✓ Uplifting Without Losing Emotional Depth
Readers are invited to laugh, reflect, feel deeply, and ultimately leave with a renewed sense of hope.
✓ Faith Based Yet Universal
The story is rooted in Christian values while addressing emotions and experiences that reach far beyond any single community.
✓ A Message That Stays With You
Ethan's example leaves readers with a simple but lasting reminder: sometimes being present for another person is the most meaningful thing we can do.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
CHAPLAIN TOM McQUEEN
Chaplain Tom McQueen is a hospice chaplain, board certified chaplain, licensed marriage and family therapist, and author of numerous inspirational books.
Through both his ministry and his writing, he encourages readers to discover hope, faith, compassion, and purpose in everyday life.
His years as a hospice chaplain have brought him into close conversations with patients and families experiencing some of life's most difficult moments. Those experiences have shaped his understanding of grief, regret, compassion, healing, and the importance of choosing how we treat others while we still have the opportunity.
With Ethan’s Presence, McQueen takes a different approach from his previous inspirational works. Rather than simply offering advice or direction, he allows the story of Ethan and Anna to speak for itself.
IN CONVERSATION WITH CHAPLAIN TOM McQUEEN
THE INSPIRATION BEHIND THE STORY
What inspired you to tell Ethan's story now?
“Ethan's Presence is based upon a true story and one that I've carried in my heart and soul for years. My inspiration for telling the story now was to share with readers that we have the same opportunity that 5yo Ethan did when he encountered Anna for the first time. And when we seize those moments, there is no limit to what we can accomplish in making the world a better place.”
THE CENTRAL MESSAGE
What do you believe is the central message of Ethan’s Presence?
“The central message is that our purpose in life is not to judge and condemn others but rather to serve as instruments of peace and healing in our world today.”
LESSONS FROM HOSPICE MINISTRY
How has your experience as a hospice chaplain influenced the story?
“As a hospice chaplain I have conversations with patients and families at end of life and occasionally listen to the regrets they have about the way they have lived their lives and the hurt they have caused the people closest to them. Ethan's Presence is a call to choose a different path in life before our time is up on this earth.”
WHAT YOU HOPE READERS TAKE AWAY
After reading Ethan’s Presence, what do you hope readers feel encouraged to do?
“After reading Ethan's Presence, I hope readers are encouraged and energized to follow Ethan's example, embracing their vocations as human beings to heal, to help, and to bring hope to others.”
WHY THIS BOOK IS DIFFERENT
What makes Ethan’s Presence especially meaningful to you as an author?
“Ethan's Presence is especially meaningful to me as an author because, unlike my other books where I've given advice, guidance, and direction, that's not what this book is all about. In Ethan's Presence, I simply told the story of a young boy and teenager who showed us all how to do the right thing by restoring a forgotten woman's dignity in the most important way.”
A MESSAGE BEFORE READERS BEGIN
What would you like readers to keep in mind before beginning the book?
“Before beginning to read Ethan's Presence, think of the story as a series of events that could happen anywhere at any time even today and how you would react to the horrific tragedy that happened in Madison.”
THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY
What makes Ethan’s Presence particularly moving is the fact that its message was not created simply as an abstract lesson about kindness.
The story grew from an experience that Chaplain Tom McQueen carried with him for years.
His work alongside people facing grief, transition, and the end of life gave him an intimate understanding of the things people sometimes wish they had done differently.
Through Ethan, McQueen presents another possibility.
Instead of waiting until the end of life to recognize the importance of compassion, readers are encouraged to choose compassion now.
The opportunity to help someone, restore someone's dignity, or offer hope may arrive in an ordinary moment.
The question is whether we will recognize it.
THE POWER OF PRESENCE
The title Ethan’s Presence captures one of the book's most meaningful ideas.
Ethan does not need extraordinary power to change Anna's life.
He does not arrive with a complicated solution.
He simply shows up with kindness.
That presence becomes significant because Anna has experienced what it means to be overlooked and forgotten.
Through their relationship, the book demonstrates how being genuinely present for another person can become an act of healing.
A CALL TO CHOOSE A DIFFERENT PATH
One of the book's strongest messages comes from McQueen's experience as a hospice chaplain.
End of life conversations can reveal the regrets people carry about relationships, decisions, and the ways they have treated those closest to them.
Ethan’s Presence turns that reflection into an invitation.
Readers do not have to wait until the end of their lives to choose differently.
There is still time to forgive.
There is still time to help.
There is still time to restore dignity.
There is still time to bring hope.
FOLLOWING ETHAN’S EXAMPLE
Ethan's example is ultimately simple.
See people.
Care about people.
Choose kindness.
Offer hope.
And when an opportunity comes to make someone's life a little better, do not ignore it.
That simplicity is part of what gives the story its emotional power.
The book reminds readers that changing someone's life does not always require a grand gesture.
Sometimes it begins with simply being there.
A STORY OF HOPE, HEALING, AND HUMAN CONNECTION
At a time when loneliness and disconnection can affect people of every generation, Ethan’s Presence offers a reminder that human connection still matters.
Anna's story represents the consequences of being forgotten.
Ethan's presence represents what can happen when someone chooses to remember that another person matters.
Together, they create a story about the possibility of restoration.
A NOTE FROM THE BOOK CIRCLE BOOK CLUB
At The Book Circle Book Club, we believe the most meaningful books are often the ones that continue speaking to readers after the final page.
Ethan’s Presence is a story that invites reflection on the way we see others and the choices we make when we encounter someone who is hurting, isolated, or forgotten.
Chaplain Tom McQueen's story reminds us that compassion is not merely an idea.
It is a choice.
And sometimes, one person's choice to care can become the beginning of another person's return to hope.
For its moving message of compassion, dignity, healing, and human connection, Ethan’s Presence is a fitting selection for our September Edition.
DISCOVER ETHAN’S PRESENCE
WHAT IF ONE SIMPLE ACT OF KINDNESS COULD CHANGE A LIFE?
Ethan’s Presence How One Child Changed a Forgotten Life is available in Paperback and Kindle.
Discover more about Chaplain Tom McQueen and his books:
www.tommcqueenbooks.net
THE BOOK CIRCLE BOOK CLUB
EXCLUSIVE SEPTEMBER EDITION
Celebrating remarkable authors, meaningful conversations, and the stories that stay with us.
Tom McQueen
