Hannah Ryan has the perfect life with the perfect family. Married to her childhood sweetheart, with two wonderful loving daughters, she is convinced that her love of God will always keep things sunny. But in one fatal stroke, her world is drastically changed, and everything she holds dear is severed from her.
On the other hand, Brian Wesley is a recovering alcoholic with several DUIs under his belt. After three weeks clean, a job layoff sends him back to the bar. Two hours and fourteen drinks later, he plows into the side of the Ryan's SUV. As he struggles with his looming prison sentence and his failing marriage, he must find his way to inner peace.
Once again, Karen Kingsbury has written a masterpiece of emotional drama that grabs your heart from the start and doesn't let go. Hannah travails the rocky cliffs of doubt, certain that the loss of her family proves that either God doesn't exist or He just doesn't care. Either way, she is certain that she is better off without Him. She throws herself into hatred and bitterness, and only another tragedy can set her feet back on the Lord's path.
I both love and hate reading Kingsbury's novels. On the one hand, they are an uplifting and realistic experience of people who struggle with real-life difficulties. She knows that bad things happen to good people, and her characters must overcome the resulting emotions that trials might raise. On the other hand, her writing is so clear, so vivid, and so emotional that her writing evokes tears, and my heart literally wrenches as I empathize with her characters.
I really enjoyed the various spiritual journeys that this novel encompasses. We walk in the shoes of both the penitent criminal and the angry victim, both who must find their own way back to Christ. Along the way, we learn of desolation, forgiveness, and a pursuit of justice (instead of vengeance). Although we come to sympathize with Brian and all that he has lost, Kingsbury does not make his world rosy just because he found the Lord. I also enjoyed the fact that Hannah's return to God was gradual and in steps, rather than a full out reversal. This is far more realistic, and made her change of heart more credible.
This was another fantastic, albeit heart wrenching, novel by Karen Kingsbury. I look forward to reading the other two books in this series, and to watching for further growth of her characters.
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