Calvin Miller, author of the famed "The Singer Trilogy," sees the publication this month of "one of the hardest books I've ever written"—his life story.

Life Is Mostly Edges (Thomas Nelson) traces the 72-year-old's journey from his childhood in Enid, Okla., to his days as a pastor and then as a university professor.

Miller was approached by his agent, Greg Johnson, with the idea of putting his life to paper and was encouraged by his friend, author Eugene H. Peterson (The Message).

"You would think it would be easy to do, but to do it with some type of care, I think it's hard," he told Christian Retailing. "It's one of the hardest books I've ever written."

In his memoir, Miller pays homage to his mother and his wife as the two defining people in his life, recognizing their shared of literature. "I've always said that if we do it right as parents, we're very apt to see our children marry people a lot like us," Miller said. "There couldn't have been a better handoff."

Although Christ is the foundation of his life, Miller said the book's title, which refers to the edges of the back of a postage stamp, isn't as "declarative" spiritually and admits he wishes he had "let Jesus shine through a bit more than I did."

Read more in the Sept. 22 issue of Christian Retailing.