What is hope? A feeling? Something you do? A belief or a cluster of beliefs? A way of perceiving the world? Is hope the same as wishful thinking? Hope is complicated. Nevertheless, hope can make our lives better. In Understanding Hope, Philip Smith combines theology, psychology, philosophy, and his own experience of personal loss to help readers understand and practice hope. Understanding Hope is short, but it requires hard thinking. It's worth the effort.

Philip Smith is professor of philosophy at George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon. He is the author of The Virtue of Civility in the Practice of Politics (2002), Why Faith is a Virtue (2014), and two novels: The Heart of the Sea (2008) and Buying the Bangkok Girl (2013).