The Shack is a Christian novel by Canadian author William P. Young, a former office manager and hotel night clerk, published in 2007. The novel was self-published but became a USA Today bestseller, having sold 1 million copies as of June 8, 2008. It was the #1 paperback trade fiction seller on The New York Times Best Seller list from June 2008 to early 2010, in a publishing partnership with Hachette Book Group USA's FaithWords imprint (Hodder & Stoughton in the UK). In 2009 it was awarded the "Diamond Award" for sales of over 10 million copies by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association.
The title of the book is a metaphor for “the house you build out of your own pain”, as Young explained in a telephone interview. He also told radio host talk show Drew Marshall that The Shack "is a metaphor for the places you get stuck, you get hurt, you get damaged...the thing where shame or hurt is centered."
The novel is set in the American Northwest. The main character is Mackenzie Allen Philips, a father of five, called "Mack" by his family and friends.
A Shack is a type of small house, usually in a state of disrepair.
Shack or The Shack may also refer to:
The Shack is the nickname used by reporters for the police beat in New York City. In most cities, such a bureau is nicknamed a "cop shop." It is named after a cramped office located inside the NYPD headquarters, where journalists report on crime stories.
The first in-headquarters press bureau began in 1863, in the basement of the NYPD headquarters on Mulberry Street. In 1875, police superintendent George W. Walling expelled the press from the building for being too intrusive in police matters. When the NYPD moved to its beaux-arts headquarters at 240 Centre Street in 1910, the press set up shop in a tenement across the street. Its poor conditions may have resulted in the nickname. This location was the office for legendary reporters including Gay Talese, David Halberstam, Joe Cotter and McCandlish Phillips. In 1973, the NYPD moved to its new modernist-style headquarters at One Police Plaza in the Civic Center. The Shack followed with an office on the second floor of the new building. Its present tenants include Associated Press, New York Daily News, New York Post, New York Times, Newsday, Staten Island Advance, El Diario, NY1 News and 1010 WINS. In April 2009, NYPD Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly announced plans to evict The Shack from Police Plaza by August, in order to make way for an expansion of a command center.
A shack is a type of small, often primitive shelter or dwelling.
It is possible that up to a billion people worldwide live in shacks. Fire is a significant hazard in tight-knit shack settlements. Shack settlements are also sometimes known as slums or shanty towns.
In Australian English shack can also refer to a small holiday house with limited conveniences, for instance it may not have running water or electricity.
In oilfield drilling (Canada) a shack can also be the word for a wellsite trailer. Structures that were once notorious among oilfield workers for being cramped, uncomfortable and generally unpleasant to be in are now no longer good enough for companies that are serious about employee retention.
Shacks in Kayamandi, South Africa
Shacks in Kayamandi, South Africa
In relatively affluent areas, shacks are often used for storage or have been abandoned.
In relatively affluent areas, shacks are often used for storage or have been abandoned.
Shack are an English band formed in Liverpool in 1987. Originally Shack consisted of Mick Head (vocals/guitar), his brother John Head (guitar), Justin Smith (bass) and Mick Hurst.
Before founding Shack, Michael and John Head were in the cult 1980s band The Pale Fountains, and released two albums, Pacific Street in March 1984 and ...From Across The Kitchen Table in March 1985. However, though critically acclaimed, the albums only reached Numbers 85 and 94 in the UK Albums Chart. That band ended around 1986 and returned from London to their home town of Liverpool. Sadly, bassist and founder member, Chris "Biffa" McCaffrey died of a brain tumour in 1989.
The Head brothers soon re-emerged as Shack, signing to the Ghetto Recording Company, home of record producer Ian Broudie's solo project, The Lightning Seeds and British soul band Distant Cousins. Shack's first album Zilch was released in 1988, but was neither critically nor commercially successful. The album was later re-released on the Red Flag Recording Company label with three extra tracks in 2007.
Looking back on the memory of
The dance we shared 'neath the stars above
For a moment all the world was right
How could I have known that you'd ever say goodbye
And now I'm glad I didn't know
The way it all would end the way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance I could have missed the pain
But I'd of had to miss the dance
Holding you I held everything
For a moment wasn't I a king
But if I'd only known how the king would fall
Hey who's to say you know I might have changed it all
And now I'm glad I didn't know
The way it all would end the way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance I could have missed the pain
But I'd of had to miss the dance
Yes my life is better left to chance