The Sweet By and By

The Sweet By and By was written by first-time author Sara Evans and her collaborator, award-winning (and a personal favorite) author, Rachel Hauck.

Synopsis:

From Rachel's website:

Jade Fitzgerald left the pain of her past in the dust when she headed out for college a decade ago. Now she's thriving in her career and glowing in the light of Max Benson's love.

But then Jade's hippie mother, Beryl Hill, arrives in Whisper Hollow, Tennessee, for Jade's wedding along with Willow, her wild younger sister. Their arrival forces Jade to throw open the dark closets of her past--the insecurity of living with a restless, wandering mother, the silence of her absent father, and the heart-ripping pain of first-love's rejection.

Turns out Beryl has a secret of her own. She needs reconciliation with her oldest daughter before illness takes her life. In the final days leading to the wedding, Jade meets the One who shows her that the past has no hold on her future. With a little grace, they'll meet in the middle, maybe even before that sweet by and by.

Review:

The main character, Jade, has been wounded by life, by poor choices of her own making, and by circumstances beyond her control.

What I appreciate about Jade--and what the authors have done with this wounded woman--is that she owns her own part in the tragic circumstances and hurt in her past. Instead of blaming others--which is natural and, in her case, somewhat deserved--Jade acknowledges her own choices as her own; her mistakes are hers. Only then, by the love and grace of God, can she forgive and be forgiven. And heal.

I enjoyed this novel. It's sweet without being too sugary. Honest without being vulgar. And I don't believe I'm breaking the cardinal rule of book reviewers by saying that I sighed in contentment as I closed the back cover.

Sara Evans' first foray into fiction is a success--and she chose well her writing partner; Rachel Hauck continues to be one of my favorite authors.