Beside,
Not Above
For the man asked to walk beside another. For the wife in the room next door. For the leaders who do this work daily.
What Stage Five looks like when it walks beside someone else’s Stage One.
What it is
Beside, Not Above is the third book of the trilogy and the field manual for Stage Five. It is what happens when the man who has walked the path far enough is asked to walk beside another man through his.
Twenty-four chapters about how to listen, what not to say, when to push and when to wait, what the seat across the table actually requires, and what happens to your own walk when you give it to someone else.
Who it is for
Three audiences, equally. The man asked to walk beside another — sponsor, ministry partner, friend who got the call. The leaders and program facilitators who do this work professionally — Re:Generation leadership, SOTP directors, pastoral counselors. And the wife in the room next door, who is not a sponsor but is doing some of the same work without ever having signed up for it.
Cindy’s chapter
Chapter 21 is contributed by Cindy Smith, in her own voice. Titled A Wife’s Walk Through Stage One, it is the testimony of what it looked like from the other side — the night, the days that followed, the slow rebuilding of trust, and the woman she became in the process.
Join the launch list.
Beside, Not Above launches in 2026. Be on the list to know when the book is available, and to receive an excerpt of Cindy’s chapter when ready.
Email Ed for the chapter