The One Story

We all have favorite films that make us cry, inspire us, and touch our souls in wonderful but inexplicable ways. The majority of these films share a common theme: a single story of hope and love that has been told and retold in a thousand different ways, always to the same effect. This story points to something we all inherently need or subconsciously long for, even though we don’t fully understand why.


T. L. Hartley explores the meaning behind that story—God’s tale of hope for us all—and why it matters in order to help others discover their part in this grand yet little understood epic. While revisiting the themes and characters from a variety of movies, Hartley draws a distinction between the stories that titillate the senses or manipulate emotions and the ones that challenge the mind and soul, and delves into the origin of certain stories, their meaning, why we never tire of hearing these stories, and why they matter so much to so many.


The One Story offers an inspirational examination of the common theme behind many movies while encouraging others to hope in the mystery of the unseen and believe in the power of the greatest story ever told.