Shauna Niequist

Present Over Perfect, published by Zondervan in August 2016, records three years in which Shauna Niequist took apart a life she had built around speed. It is a set of essays rather than a therapeutic method, and her degree is in English and French literature from Westmont College in Santa Barbara. Her childhood was in Barrington, Illinois, as the daughter of Lynne Hybels and Bill Hybels, founder of Willow Creek Community Church; she taught from that church's platform and married Aaron Niequist, a musician who led worship there. Her earlier books, Cold Tangerines, Bittersweet and Bread and Wine, work the same seam of faith, friendship and food, the last with recipes included. Alongside the royalties she earns from speaking fees, a podcast, online courses and writing retreats, so the unhurried life the book recommends is also what she sells.