Positive Grace by Deb Haggerty

I’ll never leave you nor forsake you…

San Francisco – 1906

Abby Fisher is horribly distraught. Her sister, her beautiful, charming sister, is deathly ill with leukemia. Always in her sister’s shadow, Abby still will move heaven and earth to save Cecelia. Their cousin, a doctor, brings a young colleague with him when he comes to see Cecelia – Dr. Robert King has an experimental, but risky treatment that may save her life.

Even though Cecelia may not live through the trip, they transport her by motor car to San Francisco – to the hospital where Dr. King had his equipment. This new treatment, X-ray therapy, may be the answer to all their prayers.

Enter the great San Francisco earthquake and fire of 1906. How the family survives and grows stronger through the chaos is an enchanting story. And Abby’s feelings for young Dr. King are the stuff of an enchanting romance. But first, Abby must work through her grief and anger that causes her to question her faith and even the very existence of God.

Karen Barnett is quoted as saying, “There was a time in my life where I pushed God away, but it was because of guilt rather than grief. I knew God would never approve of the choices I was making at the time, so I played Jonah and hid from Him, thinking I could return once I fixed all my problems, The result? I continued falling further into sin because I was incapable of changing myself. It took a time before I realized I needed God’s strength to overcome my weakness.” Barnett has taken her own experiences to build a story that leave us with the understanding that no matter who we are or what we’ve done, God is still as close to us as our next breath and will never leave us nor forsake us.

Out of the Ruins is the first in Barnett’s Golden Gate Chronicles series – bringing to life the world of the early 20th century – a time when technology was changing lives faster than people could keep up. Modern advances such as automobiles, the telephone, electricity, x-rays – all changed peoples lives in unimaginable ways. You’ll love Abby’s story – and will want to read the rest of the series.

Solomon Harris, a prominent Los Angeles attorney, has just won an important case. On the way back to his office, he learns that the man he defended was guilty, not innocent – even though Soloman believed in his innocence. He is feeling depressed at his gullibility – he had prayed at the beginning of his career that God would give him the wisdom to determine innocence or guilt so he would never defend a guilty man. While at this low point in his life, his mother tells him that the father he has never known wants to see him – that he is dying.

Soloman jets off to North Carolina to placate his mother – not because of his father. He meets his dad, David Davison, a prominent pastor; Alma, his father’s wife; and his half-siblings: Adam, Tamara, and Leah along with Dr. Larissa Wilkinson, their cousin, whom the Davisons had adopted and raised as their own. Thus begins a tale of infidelity and betrayal and greed – but most of all, a tale of love and forgiveness and redemption. You’ll enjoy reading this story, although I was a bit surprised at how quickly the love element developed. The characters, however, are very believable and very like people we all know in our own lives.

During the International Christian Retail Show this past June, I had the opportunity to interview Vanessa Miller, a quite delightful woman. She had recently moved to North Carolina from Ohio, and proudly told me she had a 28-year-old daughter and two grandkids, a girl 6-years-old and a boy who is 5.

Feels Like Heaven is the first book in her new series, My Soul to Keep. She related that is a modern day telling of the story of King David and how secrets can negatively impact more than one life in a family. She says the book is about redemption and forgiveness and facing the secrets of your past. The next book in the series will be Heaven on Earth.

Vanessa says she has always wanted to write and has written screenplays as well as novels. She has written four previous series: Morrison Family Secrets, Second Chance at Love, Forsaken, and Rain. She is the recipient of several awards, including the Best Christian Fiction Mahogany Award in 2003 and the Red Rose Award for Excellence in Christian fiction in 2004. She graduated from Capital University in Columbus, Ohio, with a degree in organizational communication.

A devout Christian, Vanessa believes that God has called her to write redemption stories that glorify God and help readers rediscover their places with the Lord.

I received a copy of Feels Like Heaven from Whittaker House for my unbiased review.