MY REVIEW:
“Waiting for Sunrise” is the story of a young woman who tragically lost her father at a young age then lived with an abusive step-father until her mother sent her away for her protection. Although her life improved greatly and she met and married the love of her life, Patsy’s earlier life had left her with serious abandonment issues. Her fear that her husband Gilbert would leave if everything wasn’t perfect increased her stress levels until she experienced a mental breakdown. Told primarily through flashbacks, “Waiting for Sunrise” not only relates Patsy’s story but also the story of her half brother Billy who didn’t escape their abusive home but managed to overcome the odds against him.
While “Waiting for Sunrise” was beautifully written with wonderful descriptions of setting and characters, there was just something about it that didn’t sit well with me. I found myself growing aggravated with Patsy for allowing herself to wallow in depression when she had so many people who loved her and wanted to help her. She was so focused on herself that she couldn’t see that she had in many ways abandoned her own children even though she was in the same house. I was unable to generate much sympathy for her at all. On the other hand, I enjoyed Billy’s story and the way he refused to allow his circumstances to bring him down.
“Waiting for Sunrise” is a very emotional story that deals with several serious issues such as physical abuse, mental illness, and adultery. On the positive side, it also illustrates the power of faith to overcome extreme obstacles and is ultimately a testimony of victory through Christ.
This book was provided for review by
Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
A rising voice in Southern fiction, award-winning author Eva Marie Everson writes with a large helping of Florida charm. Waiting for Sunrise is a touching story of family, young love and the need for forgiveness. Everson expertly draws out the bittersweet moments of life, weaving them into a tale that envelops the soul.
Life sometimes gets the best of us. For some it’s the daily pressures, for others it’s the shadows of the past. For Patsy Milstrap, it’s both. When she travels to beautiful Cedar Key on Florida’s Gulf Coast in search of healing, she never dreams her past will be waiting for her there.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Eva Marie Everson is a successful speaker and the award-winning author of Things Left Unspoken, This Fine Life and Chasing Sunsets. She is coauthor of the Potluck Club books and the Potluck Catering Club series. She lives in Florida.
“Available June 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell,
a division of Baker Publishing Group.”
Thank you for your honest review. And, you hit on exactly the point I hoped some readers would: not all of us react/respond to abuse, abandonment, neglect in the same way. It depends on the core personality of the person. All the love in the world wouldn’t keep Patsy from sinking down … only the love of Christ, by whom we can do “all things.”
Billy (not Bobby), on the other hand, was cut from a different cloth. We can see that even from his younger chapters. So his determination was to overcome, to walk hand-in-hand fully with Christ from Day 1.
What I loved about telling this story is that I got to show how Christ comes to all of us, not just some of us. Our job is to recognize his hand when it stretches toward us. :)
Thank you again!!!
Eva Marie Everson
Author
Waiting for Sunrise