
Return to the Shack
A Journey to Redemption
Wm. Paul Young(Author)
John Murray Publishers Ltd
Will be published approx. on 8. October 2026
Book
Hardback
304 pages
978-1-3998-2432-3 (ISBN)
Description
The long-awaited sequel to one of the world's most beloved and widely read books of the last twenty years: The Shack.
How does life go on in the face of irreconcilable loss? How can the irredeemable find redemption? Unrivalled storyteller Wm. Paul Young leads us back to the great questions of human existence with profound compassion, honesty and ultimately hope.
Ten years after the devastating events of The Shack, Mackenzie Allen Phillips is still living in the shadow of loss. Though life has moved forward, grief continues to haunt his family, his relationships, his faith, and his very sense of self. Nan, his wife, carries her own hidden sorrow. They are two people bound together by love yet often divided by pain.
On what would have been their daughter Missy's sixteenth birthday, Mack and Nan confront the unthinkable when Mack is asked to visit death row to speak with the serial killer who abducted and murdered her. In the stark silence of the prison, Mack encounters not only the brokenness of another human being but also the raw weight of his own anger, doubt, and disappointment with God. Where is God when unbearable suffering endures? How can a shattered heart ever heal?
In Return to the Shack, William Paul Young invites readers on a profound journey into the depths of grief, the complexity of trauma, and the surprising humanity of those we most fear. With honesty and compassion, he explores the devastating impact of mental illness, abuse, and violence, the strain of loss on relationships, and the staggering cost - and unexpected freedom - of forgiveness.
This long-awaited sequel dares to ask the hardest questions:
What does it mean to forgive the unforgivable?
How do we live with God's silence when our wounds cry out for answers?
Can even the darkest prison and the most desolate wreckage of broken dreams become places where grace and redemption take root?
Both tender and unflinching, Return to the Shack is a story of pain, faith, and the relentless possibility of hope.
How does life go on in the face of irreconcilable loss? How can the irredeemable find redemption? Unrivalled storyteller Wm. Paul Young leads us back to the great questions of human existence with profound compassion, honesty and ultimately hope.
Ten years after the devastating events of The Shack, Mackenzie Allen Phillips is still living in the shadow of loss. Though life has moved forward, grief continues to haunt his family, his relationships, his faith, and his very sense of self. Nan, his wife, carries her own hidden sorrow. They are two people bound together by love yet often divided by pain.
On what would have been their daughter Missy's sixteenth birthday, Mack and Nan confront the unthinkable when Mack is asked to visit death row to speak with the serial killer who abducted and murdered her. In the stark silence of the prison, Mack encounters not only the brokenness of another human being but also the raw weight of his own anger, doubt, and disappointment with God. Where is God when unbearable suffering endures? How can a shattered heart ever heal?
In Return to the Shack, William Paul Young invites readers on a profound journey into the depths of grief, the complexity of trauma, and the surprising humanity of those we most fear. With honesty and compassion, he explores the devastating impact of mental illness, abuse, and violence, the strain of loss on relationships, and the staggering cost - and unexpected freedom - of forgiveness.
This long-awaited sequel dares to ask the hardest questions:
What does it mean to forgive the unforgivable?
How do we live with God's silence when our wounds cry out for answers?
Can even the darkest prison and the most desolate wreckage of broken dreams become places where grace and redemption take root?
Both tender and unflinching, Return to the Shack is a story of pain, faith, and the relentless possibility of hope.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Hodder & Stoughton
Product notice
Trade binding
Illustrations
N/A
Dimensions
Height: 222 mm
Width: 138 mm
Thickness: 14 mm
Weight
307 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-3998-2432-3 (9781399824323)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
approx. 10/2026
Hodder & Stoughton
€14.99
Not yet available
Person
Wm Paul Young was born a Canadian and raised among a technologically stone-age tribe by his missionary parents in the highlands of what was then New Guinea. He suffered great loss as a child and young adult, and now enjoys the 'wastefulness of grace' with his family in the Pacific Northwest.
Paul wrote the first version of THE SHACK many years ago when his children were small. He wanted them to understand God's grace, and that his concern and love for our wellbeing is constant. Over the years THE SHACK has grown, developed and through many different versions turned into the great success it is today.
Paul wrote the first version of THE SHACK many years ago when his children were small. He wanted them to understand God's grace, and that his concern and love for our wellbeing is constant. Over the years THE SHACK has grown, developed and through many different versions turned into the great success it is today.