Beauty on the Backroads

Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns

Lisa

A true story of true love: Review of Hope Heals by Katherine and Jay Wolf

Katherine and Jay Wolf have the kind of story you wouldn’t wish on anybody, but through the unthinkable, they have found–and clung to–hope.

They were just 26, with a 6-month-old in the house, married only a few years when Katherine suffered a massive brain stem stroke. Her odds of surviving surgery were low, but survive, she did, and though it would be a long road of recovery and loss and acceptance of how life would be, her story is nothing short of miraculous.

hope healsIn Hope Heals: A True Story of Overwhelming Loss and an Overcoming Love, the Wolfs share openly about the dreams that died with the stroke and about the hard days of learning to do basic skills again. Particularly moving is Katherine’s desperation to eat food again and the work it took for her to pass a swallowing test, as well as her realization that she couldn’t feed her baby or take care of him. (Disclaimer: I received a free copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for my review.)

Theirs is no sugar-coated hope. It is gritty and gut-wrenching. They have wrestled with God about the course of their lives and found that He is still good and their suffering is not meaningless.

Katherine writes:

When we share our stories in real and messy ways, we give people permission to do the same, and in the sharing, we release some of the things that keep us trapped in our own isolated hotel rooms. We remember we are not alone. And that brings hope. (p.195)

Grab a box of tissues before you pick up this book, but whatever you do, read it and discover that hope can be found in what seems like the most hopeless of circumstances.

Hope & the end of the world: Review of The Alliance by Jolina Petersheim

Two words I never thought I’d put together in a book review: Amish and apocalypse. But here we are with The Alliance by Jolina Petersheim. I should note that the Plain community in this novel is Old Order Mennonite, not Amish, though the two have similarities. And it really is set when the world, as we know it, ends. (Disclaimer: I received a free copy of the book through the Tyndale Blog Network in exchange for my review.) alliance

When a small plane crashes in Leora Ebersole’s Plain community in Montana, it’s clear that something major has happened in the world. The pilot, Moses Hughes, reveals that an epic power outage is the reason for the stranded Englischers and the lack of electricity. As the Old Order Mennonite community becomes a refuge, the two groups must decide if they can work together to stay alive while navigating their differing beliefs about pacifism and protection.

This is not a “Walking Dead” kind of apocalyptic story, but it does raise challenging questions about how far a person is willing to deviate from their beliefs in order to save those they love. My only disappointment is that I didn’t know there is a second, forthcoming book, in this series. So, the end is not exactly the end. I’m eager to learn more about the lives of Leora and Moses as the end of the world as they know it intensifies.

Petersheim is a gifted wordsmith, and her tone throughout the novel is one of hope despite circumstances. The Alliance is such a rare read. I don’t know of another book of its kind. I don’t usually read apocalyptic novels, but this one I can wholeheartedly recommend.