Known

Praise

“Most of us don’t get a how-to course in building lasting friendships; often we are left to figure it out as we grow up. Reading Known gave me a fresh look on friendship and its important role in my life. This fantastic resource of poems and stories from the Foths’ personal experiences will bring incredible meaning and longevity to your relationships.”
—Betsy Miller, director, StoryBrand Foundation

“I’ve been learning about extravagant love from Dick and Ruth Foth for over a decade. I asked Dick if he would come with me to a country in the middle of a civil war. He said ‘yes’ without skipping a beat. This is how the Foths are wired. They don’t see opportunities and faith and friends as separate parts of their lives but as inseparable ones. They don’t love people after they’ve ‘arrived’; they love their friends on the way. This is exactly what Jesus did. You’re going to enjoy in these pages learning about friendships from the people who have been teaching me most of what I know about them.”
—Bob Goff, chief balloon inflator and author of Love Does

“In 1983 I was a college student and living in Boston where I met Dick and Ruth Foth. They invited me into their world of friendship, a place I have happily inhabited ever since. I found myself nodding with affirmation reading each page of Known. What they write, they live. Read this book if you want more meaningful friendships. Read this book if you want deeper conversations. Read this book if you’re serious about being a better father or wife or sister or neighbor. Read this book if you want to be moved. Read this book, and you’ll find yourself leaning into relationships the way Jesus intended them to be.”
—Barry H. Corey, president of Biola University and author of Love Kindness: Discover the Power of a Forgotten Christian Virtue

“I was twenty-eight when I got married. Standing beside me was a sixty-eight-year-old groomsman named Dick Foth. My friend. The stories and ideas captured in this book have been transforming lives through Dick and Ruth for decades. I’ve seen these pages in action. They have shaped my life, my family, my friends, and my community. I trust they will shape yours too.”
—Jeremy Vallerand, president and CEO, Rescue:Freedom International

“Finding friendship and meaningful relationships can be both an art and an accident. Dick and Ruth Foth have given practical instruction to help navigate the relationships in your life. These tips will keep you sane and keep friendship alive. A must read!”
—Dary Northrop, lead pastor, Timberline Church, Fort Collins, CO

“The world is full of storytellers, but starving for sages. When Dick and Ruth Foth write a book, we get the rare privilege of both! From Dick’s anecdotes, to Ruth’s poetry (and everything in between), this book is proof of the ancient truth that two are better than one! When I finished this book, I knew it was special! I felt a renewed sense of beauty and awe for the God I serve and the people around me. I haven’t read a book on relationships like this one in a long time!”
—Chad Bruegman, teaching pastor and directional leadership, Red Rocks Church, Denver

“I look for three things from an author: credibility, authenticity, and clarity of message. Dick and Ruth Foth have delivered on all three. Known: Finding Deep Friendships in a Shallow World is a masterpiece! Through their lives and their words, I will never look at relationships the same way again.”
—Hal Donaldson, president, Convoy of Hope

“Known is a heartfelt, poignant, and inspiring read. In this day of mobile, fast-paced texting and e-mail, Dick and Ruth Foth teach us how to build deep friendships. Their lives exemplify what it means to be genuinely invested in and committed to others. This book beautifully captures their collective wisdom and is a gift to all who read it.”
—Nancy and Curt Richardson, founders of Otter Products

“More beautifully than any other two people I know, Dick and Ruth show what it means to live in deep relationships with God and with people. Their book gives us a captivating glimpse of God’s heart for a world of vibrant friendship. Known is a transformative combination of theology and storytelling. It is exciting, finally, to have their adventures, experience, and wisdom down on paper for the rest of us to share!”
—Peter Hartwig, theologian, the Bonhoeffer House at the University of Virginia

“This book provides insights that will enable you to become a better friend. It will guide you with a strategy for cultivating more authentic and vulnerable relationships by sharing your stories. This is a great read from two people who model this friendship strategy in an exemplary way. Read this book and find greater joy in sharing stories that enable you to know and be known.”
—Dr. Barry C. Black, chaplain of the United States Senate

“This is a book of wisdom; Dick’s to challenge, and Ruth’s to inspire. Together, they transform. Whether you are black, white, or brown; young or old; single or married—whatever your stage or station in life, if you allow, Dick and Ruth Foth’s intensely practical yet otherworldly words will reach through the pages and gently beckon you to follow them into the deep warmth of relationships that nurture, heal, and equip you to live your dreams and fulfill your destiny.”
—Dayna Bowen Matthew, author of Just Medicine: A Cure for Racial Inequality in American Health Care

“Let me confess up-front that I’m a bit biased. Dick Foth has become one of my dearest friends over the past twenty-five years. And I know the value of having real friends. That said, this combined effort of Dick (the quintessential extrovert) and his wonderful wife Ruth (a self-described introvert) is the best book I have ever read on the subject of friendship. It perfectly balances Dick’s ‘salt air’ nature with Ruth’s ‘peach cobbler’ disposition. The book is engaging, readable, and enjoyable. Dick is a masterful storyteller. His deeply personal style mixes comfortably with a keen intellect and profound wisdom born from experience. With a light touch, he plucks illustrative anecdotes from across cultures, from across the centuries, and from his own story to weave together a powerful narrative and unassailable argument for a simple truth: It is not good for the man to be alone. Our primary design function is relationship. It’s not a religious or cultural or ethical or moral principle; it is the fiber of our being. We are built to love God and one another. It is who and what we are as humans. Dick and Ruth offer an exhilarating voyage of discovery into this great unknown Known.”
—Lt. Gen. Mick Kicklighter, US Army, ret.
 
“After living on a college campus for a few months, I often felt lonely, even though I was constantly surrounded by people; I knew I had ‘friends,’ but still did not feel known. Dick and Ruth share their loving wisdom, engaging stories, and practical advice about how to intentionality building deep relationships. Not only do they inspire us to seek deeper friendships, but also to do what is takes to build and maintain those relationships. Dick and Ruth dare to speak the truth to this generation about authentic and God-centered friendships. This book helped me make sense of my college experiences like no other book I have ever read
—Anna Luzinski, student at Colorado Christian University