Another Way Home, the third book in Deb Raney’s Chicory Inn Novels, brings us deeper into the lives of Grant and Audrey’s daughter, Danae, and her husband, Dallas Brooks. Danae has suffered for years over not being able to get pregnant—especially since her sisters seem to pop kids out on demand. Danae is willing to consider adoption, but Dallas won’t hear of adoption and worse, won’t talk about why not.
In an attempt to find meaning in her life, Danae begins working at a safe house for abused women and children. Dallas, although uneasy about the situation, accedes to her desire to do so. Danae gives her heart to these women and children all the while wondering why she cannot become a mother.
Finally, just before Thanksgiving, Danae finds peace in her heart and can welcome the thought of the new baby her sister is going to bear. Thanksgiving weekend, however, brings chaos and a situation that could change all of their lives forever.
I’m liking the Chicory Inn series. Deb Raney has the ability to bring tough topics that occur in many families to the surface and to deal with them gently and with hope. I could identify with Danae—I was unable to have children of my body myself. I know the anguish of fertility drugs and schedules and the total depression that follows yet another failure to conceive. Deb portrays this struggle with realism and grace. The characters of Dallas and Danae are realistic and we can accompany them on their ups and downs all the while rooting for a successful outcome to their problems.
If you like true to life and realistic stories, with romance and trials and twists and turns strewn throughout, you’ll like Another Way Home: A Chicory Inn Novel – Book 3
Deborah Raney’s books have won numerous awards, including the RITA, National Readers’ Choice Award, HOLT Medallion, and the Carol Award, and have twice been Christy Award finalists. She and her husband, Ken, recently traded small-town life in Kansas—the setting of many of Deborah’s novels—for life in the (relatively) big city of Wichita, where they enjoy gardening, antiquing, movies, and traveling to visit four children and a growing brood of grandchildren who all live much too far away. Find out more about Deb at DeborahRaney.com.
This sounds like a series to look into.