Category: Book Reviews

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The Forgiving Hour, by Robin Lee Hatcher, ebook edition 2016, Robinsong Inc.

Forgiveness–a theme of humanity

Forgiveness has always been a human theme. From the story of Adam and Eve on, the need of forgiveness has been central. The moment we err, that little elf called ‘conscience’ whispers in our ear. When we ban him from our presence, we suffer consequences. So does everyone around.

As humans, we crave to be forgiven, but we also have to learn to forgive. It’s a two-way street. Hanging onto resentment makes a person miserable, and also affects everyone around.

Can she find freedom from the stranglehold of bitterness?

Forgiveness is a human theme.Robin Lee Hatcher expertly plays out the theme of forgiveness in this novel of the lives of a woman and her son. They have been betrayed. They suffer years of resulting consequences and misery. Have they been permanently trapped in bitterness, or will they rise above it?

What do you feel about forgiveness?

What would be the hardest thing for you to forgive? How would you be able to forgive? The Forgiving Hour reflects some of the author’s own path to forgiveness. Not at all easy to forgive some things, but so emancipating.

Why I chose this book.

I received a free copy of this book via a one-day promotional Kindle e-book offer that the author gave her Facebook friends. Thank you, Robin! I loved it. Not only is the theme universal and vital to changing lives, the writing is beautiful. Emotions are felt and settings are seen through the views of characters. I love your writing style.

The plotline begins with the inciting incident when the main character is an adult, then goes back to where it all began years before in her teens. At the end we see the final result of the storyline. Readers see through the points of view of several characters, each of whom have subplots. It works very well. There is a prologue, seven parts, and an epilogue, totaling a little over 300 pages.

The author had previously referred me to this book to show me an example of the plotline of one of her most successful books. The reason she told me about it is because the novel I’ve been working on myself has a similar plotline. So glad to see how well it played out in The Forgiving Hour. Now to emulate her vivid writing style! Thank you for this bit of mentoring. It means a lot to me as a greenhorn novelist.

To learn more about the author and her books, visit www.robinleehatcher.com.

This website is an Indigo.ca affiliate. If you click on the above link and make a purchase, with no extra cost to you I may receive a small kickback to help defray the cost of keeping my website running. Thank you, I hope you enjoy browsing indigo/chapters. Don’t forget to look up The Forgiving Hour under the books section.

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Under the Bayou Moon, by Valerie Fraser Luesse, 2021, Revell (Baker Publishing Group)

Discover Fascinating Acadian Louisiana

Discover Fascinating Acadian LouisianaDiscover Fascinating Acadian Louisiana through the eyes of a teacher arriving there in 1949. Miss Ellie Fields takes up a position here, away from her home and family. With trepidation, she bravely ventures forth, stopping on her way to discover New Orleans and experience its famed party life. Here she meets a budding photographer who becomes a lifelong friend.

When Ellie arrives at her destination, she enters a steep learning curve. This position entails much more than she bargained for. The odds are stacked against her. However, it’s already too late. She has fallen in love immediately with the place and its people. For her there is no other choice than to embrace the challenges.

Teaching English to French-speaking Acadians

Ellie finds that the Acadian (shortened to Cajun) children and their families speak French at home. She must teach them English. Previous teachers have alienated the children by never allowing them to speak a word of their mother tongue at school. Furthermore, the Creole (black) children who live in the area are not even allowed to attend school. Her heart goes out to them.

A Cabin in the Bayou

Ellie is given a cabin in the Bayou to live in. No electricity or running water. She paddles to school on a little boat–careful not to tip it and be eaten by alligators. Sound rustic? She totally loves all of it–especially the night sounds of birds and frogs and other bayou wildlife. I love Luesse’s descriptions of the scenery–the sunset, the moon, the trees and water–and a mysterious white alligator.

Adventure, Romance, Suspense, Mystery

This story features all of these threads. Just when it seems Ellie has overcome major hurdles, disaster strikes. I won’t give away any spoilers though. You’ll have to read it for yourself. Suffice it to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Luesse spent a year researching the Bayou area and its history. She puts in lots of interesting details, all incorporated into the story. I totally love her writing style, and look forward to reading more books by her. It was a pleasure to discover Acadian Louisiana through the eyes of Ellie Fields.

Thank you, Revell, for sending me a paperback copy to review. I love holding a paper book in my hands, looking at the beautiful cover art, and reading words printed in ink. This is my honest review, and I totally recommend Under the Bayou Moon to other readers.

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The Nature of Small Birds, by Susie Finkbeiner, 2021, Revell (Baker Publishing Group)

It’s not actually a bird book.

Book cover - The Nature of Small Birds
The Nature of Small Birds

The era subsequent to the Vietnam war in the United States is full of edgy racial integration. The Nature of Small Birds isn’t really a bird book–it’s a story of a girl from Viet Nam adopted into an American family. I enjoy watching the various birds that come to Vancouver Island, but am not really interested enough to buy another book about them.

It’s about adoption. Americans fight their enemies, then adopt their children.

When Revell presented me with a choice of books to review, I saw that this one was actually about an adopted girl from Viet Nam. One of her names means ‘bird’, and the author seems fascinated by birds.

Themes of family and adoption and Asia interest me. The back cover blurb says the girl plans to return to Viet Nam to find her birth mother. That sounded intriguing. What adventures in Viet Nam would it entail? But as I read on and on, every so often Mindy’s thoughts of returning to Viet Nam were touched on, but never got very far until the very end. We never do find out how it goes.

It’s about the era subsequent to the Vietnam war.

The book reads like three diaries–of the father, mother, and sister of the adopted girl. The timeline of the diaries alternates between 1975, 1988, and 2013, finally ending in 2014. It’s the story of how they came to adopt Mindy, and grew to love her. How she adapted to them, but kept her birth mother and homeland in her heart.

I like the writing style. It’s not hard to follow, and there are lots of homey details that I could relate to, about relationships, food, popular music, humble houses and cars. We see through three points of view, and are able to understand how Mindy and other characters feel through these.

Mainly, the story is a snapshot of the era subsequent to the Viet Nam war, in the United States. If you find the era and family vignettes evocative, you will like this book. If you’re looking for a suspenseful plot, that you will not find. Nor much information about actual birds.

Author’s website.

Susie Finkbeiner is the award-winning author of several books. She welcomes people to get to know her on her website at SusieFinkbeiner.com.

My website is an Indigo/Chapters affiliate. At no extra cost to you, if you click on the above link and make a purchase, I may receive a small kickback to help pay for the cost of keeping up the website. Enjoy shopping, and don’t forget to look for this review in the book section. https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/the-nature-of-small-birds

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the Oak Leaves, by Maureen Lang, 2007, Tyndale

An unfortunate legacy in the family tree

the Oak Leaves

Her family tree yielded a legacy she never expected. An unfortunate genetic disorder called fragile X syndrome, manifested in her dear little son. Could this be true? Too scary to believe and accept.

This dual-timeline novel alternates chapters between Talie’s story in the recent past in the U.S.A., and Cosima’s story in the mid 1800s in Ireland and England. Talie inherits Cosima’s diary. What she finds in there shocks her. She wonders if she has inherited the fragile X syndrome as a carrier, and passed it on to her son.

The dreaded legacy becomes real

She begins to observe the differences between her son and other toddlers, and is increasingly horrified. Their family doctor assures them that his development is merely slower than some, and he will catch up. But she gets a blood test, and consults with experts. Gradually the truth comes out. Thankfully she has an amazingly supportive husband, whose strength she is able to lean on.

But what are the implications? What does this mean for her as yet unborn child? Will he or she inherit the same genetic flaw? What about Talie’s sister, who has just met a new love interest? Should she drop him because of the possibility that her children may not be normal?

Talie grapples with all these earth-shaking, life-altering, new challenges. She repeatedly returns to Cosima’s diary, afraid of learning more, but at the same time drawing strength from her godly example.

the Oak Leaves is written from the perspective of an author who herself has a son with fragile X syndrome. Her own family tree yielded a legacy she never expected. Maureen Lang’s son is like Royboy, the brother of Cosima. Fragile X is a mysterious and elusive genetic flaw that affects some more than others, and can skip several generations before it once again emerges in an unfortunate form.

Why did this unexpected disaster happen to me?

One wonders why God allows such curses. This is a theological issue that every one of us must wrestle with at some point. Is there some reason for tragedies? It’s the age-old question that plagued Job in the first book ever written. Simply put, some would remind us that the earth is still under Adam’s curse. Although Jesus came to redeem us, we are not yet made perfect. The Bible says that the whole world groans awaiting the day when our redemption is complete. Meanwhile our faith is developed and strengthened as we hang in there together, supporting and encouraging one another.

Visit www.tyndalefiction.com for updates on Maureen Lang’s books.

This website is and Indigo/Chapters affiliate. When you click on the above link and make a purchase, at no extra cost to you, a small kickback may come to me to help defray my expenses in maintaining this site. I appreciate your support, and hope you have fun shopping in their online store. Look for my reviews in the book section.

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Along a Storied Trail, by Ann H. Gabhart, 2021, Revell (Baker Publishing Group)

Now, this is my kind of a book.

An intrepid Appalachian book woman
Along a Storied Trail

The year is 1937; Tansy is an intrepid Appalachian book woman. She has a government-sponsored job delivering books to remote homes by horseback. We readers get to ride along with her, envisioning the people, their homes, and the scenic, if treacherous, journeys. Treacherous in more ways than one.

Great writing style

Perfect pacing makes Along a Storied Trail pleasant to read. Language sprinkled with colloquialisms adds authenticity. Yet it’s mostly written in present-day standard English so that it’s easy to understand and follow. Gentle suspense and light humour spice it up.

Characters of all ages and kinds

Three romances wind through the tale. Something for every age category–teens, twenties, and even seniors like myself. Some tragedy, some broken love, some delayed love. Some abuse. Disasters with wonderful results. A baby.

In a place and time where couples normally married in their teens, Tansy is practically an old maid at twenty. But she’s independent and happy, although she dreams of meeting a romantic man with ‘aplomb’. Will her dream come true? Or will she make a mistake and choose the wrong man? You can’t judge a book by its cover. Or a man.

This story of an intrepid book woman is the second Appalachian story I’ve read by Ann H. Gabhart. See my previous review of An Appalachian Summer. She’s a best-selling author, and I’ve added her to my list of favourite authors. Find out more about her and her books at www.annhgabhart.com.

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The Paris Betrayal, by James R. Hannibal, 2021, Revell (Baker Publishing Group)

Pertinent Themes

The Paris Betrayal is simultaneously the oldest and the newest story ever told.Still pertinent, it is an allegory based on the oldest book ever recorded–the book of Job in the Bible. Interestingly, Hannibal began writing the book before the COVID-19 world-wide pandemic set in. Yet, he themed the story around biological warfare–an engineered plague designed to wipe out enemy nations–the injectable cure also created by the same evil organization.

Action-packed, with gentler moments sprinkled in

I don’t usually choose racy shoot-em-up spy novels, with dead bodies and horror all over the place. This testosterone and adrenaline-packed page-turner is written by a former stealth pilot, who has experienced some of the scenes first-hand. However, as an older woman, providing I didn’t linger on the details of the fights, disease, and death, it was actually a welcome change to read something quite different from my normal fare. There are a few women and threads of touching romance. A memorable quote is from a woman the main character meets on a train, when he is diseased and ugly from all his wounds, feeling sorry for himself because he didn’t purposely betray his leader and didn’t deserve to die this way. She says, “Stop asking what you deserve, Ben. Try asking, ‘What is my purpose?’… I keep busy by asking that purpose each day. For instance, tonight I think my purpose is to sit beside a wronged man on a train.”

Biblical Allegory

It got very interesting when I began to notice the Biblical themes. Having studied the book of Job several times in my life, I recognized the underlying thread. It was gratifying to discover in the Author Note at the end, that I was right about that. In the end of the novel, there seems to be a Jesus allegory as well. Hmm, it would be interesting to check out Hannibal’s comparative Bible study and book club resource on his website at www.jamesrhannibal.com.

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Blackberry Beach, by Irene Hannon, 2021, Revell (Baker Publishing Group)

Blackberry Beach, by Irene Hannon

Blackberry Beach. What a lovely name for a romance novel. There’s nothing like sun-warmed blackberries growing on a beach–the heady scent of the berries and the bushes themselves, the juicy rich sweetness of the berries–add to that a fresh sea breeze contrasted with warm sun on your skin; enough to put one in a romantic mood if you ask me!

Irene Hannon’s novel is set in Oregon, but I enjoyed reading it sitting on one of the many beaches with blackberries here on the west coast of Canada. The setting described in the book felt familiar to me, with the culture of a beachside community of people who frequent a friendly specialty coffee shop, taco stand, bakery and so on, and who join together on projects to help the less fortunate.

The story revolves around two couples that fall in love–one is a younger couple, the other an older couple. Both men have established their lives in Blackberry Beach, but the women are visiting. Will their new love interests be strong enough to hold them there? It would mean major changes for both of them.

The people of the community are banding together to start a home for foster children, sponsored by the two churches. Both couples come together to help renovate a house for this worthy project–an altruistic way to begin a relationship.

There is a lot of head space in this novel, with each main character mulling over and deliberating about what they want in their lives and why. The author expertly brings out the way past experiences have molded characters. Through the minds of characters she explores relationships, career choices, and more.

Find Blackberry Beach on Indigo/Chapters here.
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facing the dawn, by Cynthia Ruchti, 2021, Revell (Baker Publishing Group)

Contemporary Women’s Fiction

facing the dawn, by Cynthia Ruchti, is a Contemporary Women’s Fiction story. It was refreshing to read a novel that doesn’t follow a typical plotline. This one reads almost more like a memoir or biography, except that those aren’t usually written in quite as sarcastic a tone. book photo

A rotten attitude

For the first couple of chapters, I didn’t like the main character. Her name is Mara, which means ‘bitter’ (in part), and her attitude is shown in her sarcasm. Perhaps she reminded me too much of myself when I went through a similar phase in my life. Mara resents her husband’s absence as their children grow up. She feels that maybe if he were with them the children would not have gotten into the problems they’ve gone through. She finds herself in the petty difficulties of contemporary American life as well, and could use his support. It’s partly her own fault. She encouraged him to go to Africa, telling him she was a strong, independent woman (also part of the meaning of her name).

Mara’s husband has been in Uganda for three years, building wells with a humanitarian organisation. He won’t be back for another year. She’s tired of dealing with the kids and house on her own. She has to work to make ends meet, and her job is unfulfilling.

Plunged into a dark valley

However, in chapter four, Mara’s situation suddenly changes with a phone call bringing bad news. Now the family is thrust into grief. But along with the grief, God has sent friends like angels to support and encourage them. Then there is more grief. And Mara goes into a serious depression over Christmas.

Readers go through Mara’s grief with her in vivid detail. Her ‘forever friend’ is there for her through all her mixed feelings, always knowing what she needs. A kind man and his son who live nearby also pitch in to befriend and help this forlorn little family.

Emerging to face the dawn

Mara has many questions in her mind. Facing the dawn is part of the answer, which at first is a bit of a mystery to her as well. It comes in layers.

I’m glad I chose this book from the new novels Revell offered me to review. Having gone through major grief myself this past year, and having raised children through hair-raising childhood and teen years, I could relate to Mara. Reading about the things that helped Mara on her journey to healing are interesting too. Maybe I’ll try some of them myself.

creativity
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Facing the Dawn by Cynthia Ruchti — also see my review and others on Goodreads

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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A Dance in Donegal, by Jennifer Deibel, 2021, Revell (Baker Publishing Group)

Ireland 1921

A Dance in Donegal transported me from Canada in 2021 to a village on the west coast of Ireland in 1921. I haven’t quite returned home yet. If I really went there and encountered all that this main character did, I doubt I would fare as well as her, though. She was transported from Boston, alone in the unknown.

Vivid Contrasts

A young American woman moves to her mother’s hometown in Ireland.

My thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book to review. I chose it out of the several they published this month because it’s based in Ireland. Two of my great-grandparents were Irish and I’m curious about their land and lives. I wonder if they came from villages like this. Thank you to the author for painting a vivid word-picture. You showed us the setting and the interactions of villagers, good and bad. Simple and poor living conditions, generosity, gossip, lies, loyalty, betrayal, sickness, superstition, hatred and love. Most of all, the miracle of God’s love, which changes lives. You even gave us tastes of the language, integrated in phrases.

Tea and brown bread seem to be mainstays. I wonder whether it’s the same brown bread we eat nowadays here in North America, made with yeast. Perhaps they used a quicker molasses and soda recipe.

Writing Style

Chapters are short; nice for me as I read in between doing other things. The pace is comfortable. I like how the author gets into the heads and hearts of the main characters. Readers can almost feel their emotions with them. However, some of the physical emotive description seemed overdone to me. I couldn’t relate to tears splashing onto my breast, or bile in my throat as a reaction.

I’m glad the main character survived her first few months. At the end, somehow it seemed like a beginning from which the story could continue. Maybe there will be a sequel.

To learn more about the author and upcoming books, go to JENNIFERDEIBEL.COM.

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Ribbon of Years, by Robin Lee Hatcher, 2001, First RobinSong Inc. ebook edition, 2018

Download to Kindle App

I found this free ebook offer several months ago and downloaded it onto my Kindle app to read later. I always like Robin Hatcher’s books. The pace suits me–not too speedy, but not draggy either. Robin writes novels from a Christian viewpoint, but is not preachy.

Women’s Fiction–relatable events in a woman’s life, from teens to falling in love, motherhood and beyond.

Ribbon of Years appealed to me because it is the (fictional) life story of a woman, starting from the age of 15. There is a dual timeline, and it starts out with a woman discovering a box of the main character’s mementos; items that signify meaningful events and people in her life. As each item is removed from the box, the associated story from the main character’s life is told.

The first item in the box leads to the story of Miriam as a precocious fifteen year old who can’t wait to break loose from her parents and her little hometown. She sets out for Hollywood with dreams of becoming a movie star. I won’t spoil it on you by telling how this works out.

Her friend Jacob, who is in love with her as a teenager, is with her throughout the story, as are some of the other characters. Miriam goes through ups and downs over her life. I cried along with her several times, because I have gone through similar experiences.

Initially Miriam was disillusioned with her parents’ Christianity and church, and mad at God. But eventually she realized that God was her best (and sometimes only) friend. Her faith in God keeps her strong and steadfast through the journey of her life, giving her joy in spite of hard knocks that would have left others bitter.

If you, like me, appreciate stories that are more realistic and meaningful than run-of-the-mill formulaic romances or suspense novels, I recommend this book to you. As an older woman looking back over a lifetime of ups and downs and experiences that are not straightforward, I could relate to this main character. Very touching.

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Author’s Website

Find out more about Robin Lee Hatcher and other books she has written at: www.robinleehatcher.com.

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The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, by R. A. Dick, 1945, Vintage Books (Random House)

A widow is befriended by the ghost of a sea captain.
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir

This book was the last present to me from my husband. I saved it to read until now, half a year since his passing. He watched the movie late one night last March, after I’d already gone to bed, and loved it so much that he went to Chapters and ordered me the book. I knew it held significance to him, so I postponed reading it until a time when I was able to take it in and think about the reasons Sid wanted to share it with me.

Shortly after Sid ordered the book, Canada was suddenly shut down due to COVID-19. At the same time, his physical condition was deteriorating rapidly from pancreatic cancer. So our concentration was on these things and we almost forgot about the book. Finally when covid restrictions lightened up they phoned a couple of times to say the book had arrived at Chapters, and I took a few minutes away from tending my dear to go pick it up.

I remember watching the sitcom of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir a few times in the sixties. But the book seemed more serious. Did you know ‘muir’ means ‘the sea’? And Mrs. Muir’s first name, Lucy, or Lucia, means light. She was a little woman whose husband had recently died. She moved to a small town by the sea with her two young children to establish her own life, away from controlling in-laws. An introvert by nature, here she could live a quiet life.

She found an affordable house to rent, offered cheap because it was haunted by a sea captain who used to own it. The captain became her friend. Was he real or a figment of her imagination? At any rate, it was his idea that she write a book.

I can see why Sid wanted me to read this story. I totally relate to Mrs. Muir. Like her, I love living near the ocean. It restores my soul. Like Mrs. Muir, there was a time in my life when I needed to find myself, away from others. Like her, I enjoy the simple things of life, like walking with my dog or puttering in a garden with a few roses. I also enjoy working on a book I’m writing.

Plus there’s the theme of being a widow. In my case I wonder if Sid was thinking he would come and converse with me like the captain and Mrs. Muir did. Indeed I have found comfort in talking to Sid over the last six months since he passed. Whether he really hears me or not is kind of beside the point. I recall things he used to say, and things we enjoyed together. And cry because I miss his physical presence. But I haven’t forgotten that we were often at odds with one another, just the way Mrs. Muir was with the captain. You’ll have to read it to see what I mean. I’m glad to know I’m not the only person who gets cranky like that.

This book reminds me of one I recently read–Love, Anthony, by Lisa Genova. Also about a young mother living by the sea. Also with a theme of enjoying the simplicity of life without trying to please others by doing and accomplishing things all the time.

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Tidewater Bride, by Laura Frantz, 2021, Revell (Baker Publishing Group)

Early America

Tidewater Bride, by Laura Frantz

Tidewater Bride, by Laura Frantz, transports readers to early 1600s Virginia. We’ve all heard of the legendary Pocahontas, a true love story of that era between a native girl and a white settler. How did they come to fall in love? Frantz brings alive the situations and circumstances of several characters in this book. Many peoples are at odds in the unstable times of the setting. It’s not just settlers and naturals (the term Frantz uses for natives). Several interesting and intriguing subplots bring readers into this new world.

Skillfully Written

Frantz creates suspense on several levels. The romance between the daughter of a merchant and a tobacco grower includes characters from the various peoples who inhabited Virginia at the time. Tensions simmer between settlers and natives. African slave owners abuse them. White settlers include British elite, Scottish indentures, Puritans who keep to themselves, doctors, merchants, innkeepers, and shiploads of brides. Many male settlers have already arrived. Some married native girls. Imported brides are never enough for the men who want wives.

Colloquial Lingo

The author makes extensive use of the colloquial lingo of the era. It took a couple of chapters to get used to it. The flowery way of speaking almost seems poetic. It helped put me into the viewpoint of the main character. I felt for all the different people of her world.

I chose this book to write a review on, and the publisher sent me a free copy. Frantz has researched well, and I recommend the book to readers of early American historical fiction.

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www.laurafrantz.net

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Moral Compass, by Danielle Steel, 2020, Dell (Random House)

Moral Compass, by Danielle Steel
A high school rape–the circumstances and results.

Moral Compass, by Danielle Steel, addresses the topic of rape in the setting of an elite boarding school in the United States.

The novel starts out on the first day back to school in September, with faculty arriving and observing students and their parents unloading baggage from cars. Many characters are introduced and we learn that it’s the first year that the school is accepting female students. We don’t get into the action until chapter three, at Halloween.

The pace picks up quickly from there. Danielle Steel brings out the unique personalities of the characters vividly. Each person involved reacts differently to the incident, and there are many more people affected than one might think. Faculty, board members, parents, police, lawyers, and the students themselves. Which way will the dominoes fall? Each family of the students involved has their own sub-story, with surprising results.

The complex relationships between all the characters is very interesting. As a reader I learned a lot about how the American justice system works.

Moral Compass appealed to me as a parent, a former teacher, and women’s worker. So glad my son picked it out as a Christmas gift for me.

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Love Anthony, by Lisa Genova, 2012, Gallery Books (Simon & Schuster)

Free download

An offer of a free e-book from Simon & Schuster popped up on Facebook, and from the handful of choices I picked this one. Several years ago I read Still Alice, by Lisa Genova, which I really liked. So, I already had an appreciation of this author, but the blurb told me that Love Anthony was centred around an autistic child. I wasn’t so sure I was interested in reading about autism at this point in my life, as currently there are several other personal issues at the top of my list of concerns.

Qualified author

Lisa Genova is well qualified to write about brain disorders, as she holds a PhD in neuroscience from Harvard. Still Alice centres around dementia, and because her books are novels, they bring a more personal understanding of a particular disorder than a textbook does. She gets right into the heads and emotions of not only the person with the disorder, but also the family members and others in their lives.

It’s about so much more than autism.

So, between syrupy Hallmark movies and scaled down COVID-19 Christmas activities, I cozied down with a soft blanket in my lazyboy and started reading. The novel begins with two women who don’t know each other, but both live on Nantucket Island. I learned that Nantucket is in some ways similar to Vancouver Island, where I live. Dark drizzly gray winters that go on too long and bring on depression. But amazing sunny beach summers that bring boatloads of tourists with their hustle and bustle.

Needs in marriage

These two women have a few things in common. Both are newly separated from their husbands and facing up to that turmoil. Both had set aside their creativity and writing/editing interests for years while raising children.

Anthony’s story is woven in as his mother reflects on his short life and reads her diary. Then he tells some of his own story through the other woman, as she is inspired to write about an autistic child.

Understanding traits

The author cleverly gets across the point that autism is a wide, wide spectrum, and everyone has some of the traits. As I read I saw some of the traits in myself: the need to escape from noisy crowds, the preference for quiet preoccupation as opposed to human interaction. But the difference with Anthony is that such traits are extreme. He doesn’t speak at all or make eye contact. His life exists outside of social awareness.

Looking to God for answers

His mother questions her faith in God as part of processing her son’s autism. She prayed and prayed for answers, to no avail. She quit going to church a long time ago, but a priest tells her to keep trusting God and the answers will come to her.

As Anthony inspires the other woman to write his story, he speaks to her about love and acceptance, universal needs.

Simply ‘being’, in love, is the best thing in life.

I was very glad I read this book. It’s message will stay with me, helping me to understand love in a new way. The book is about so much more than autism or the lives of these two women.

Anthony’s mother, in retrospect, has the happiest memories of simple moments she spent with him, seemingly doing nothing, but oh so meaningful. Talking, doing, and accomplishing take a back seat after all, to simply being together. I totally relate; my most precious memories are of time spent with the people in my life in silence, enjoying the sunshine, the blue sky, ocean waves, fresh air, even cozied up in warm blankets looking out at a drizzly winter day.

Suggestions to the publisher

I would recommend this book to anyone. Unfortunately the title doesn’t give any clues to draw readers. I think I would change the book cover as well. After reading the book the title and cover make sense, but readers need something to draw them to the themes found inside. It’s like hiding your light under a bushel, as the Bible story goes.

Simon & Schuster offer a free download of the Glose app for reading. I found it very good. The only glitch was that a few pages here and there came up blank. I discovered that if you tap on the blank page the words appear.

https://glose.com/book/love-anthony

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