God's Troubadour, The Story of St. Francis of Assisi

Francis Bernardone is the son of a wealthy merchant in Assisi, a young man raised on songs of glory and the romantic tales of knights who win honor in battle. When his father sends him to war as a knight, Francis returns not triumphant but transformed. He has seen suffering up close, watched the poor left to die in the wreckage of conflict, and found the songs of courtly love suddenly hollow. In one decisive moment, he strips himself of wealth and status, giving everything away to follow a different kind of calling. He becomes a troubadour for God, singing not of earthly romance but of radical love, poverty, and the beauty of all creatures. Sophie Jewett tells this medieval saint's story with the lyrical grace its subject deserves, rendering Francis's journey from privileged youth to the poorest of friars as a tale of genuine sacrifice and hard-won joy. The book endures because it poses a question that never grows old: what would we give away if we found something worth more than everything we own?