This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Another Dawn
Bethany House (February 1, 2011)
by
Kathryn Cushman
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Kathryn Cushman is a graduate of Samford University with a degree in pharmacy. After practicing as a pharmacist, she left her career to marry and begin a family and has since pursued her dream of writing.
Other books by Kathryn, A Promise to Remember was a finalist for the American Christian Fiction Writers Book-of-the-Year in the Women’s Fiction category, and Waiting for Daybreak was a finalist in Women’s Fiction for the Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award.
Leaving Yesterday, her third novel, was a finalist for the ACFW Carol Award.
Now her fifth book, Another Dawn, has arrived in stores, and I’m very excited about it!
On the homefront, Kathryn has been married to Lee for over twenty years now, and their two daughters are currently braving the worlds of junior high and high school. They’ve lived in Santa Barbara for the last nineteen years. It’s a beautiful place and Kathryn feels blessed to be there (although a seventy degree Christmas still leaves her dreaming of a white one—or at least a colder one!)
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Grace Graham is back in Tennessee with her four-year-old son on a short unpaid leave from work, helping her father recover from surgery and spending time with her sister.
Shoal Creek seems more backward than ever after her years in California, and it’s hard to find organic food anywhere. When the unthinkable happens and her son is diagnosed with measles, Grace’s fears over modern medicine take a dangerous turn.
Worse, the town has fallen into quarantine and its residents focus their anger and blame on Grace. She is alone and scared, until one brave woman chooses to reach out a hand of forgiveness and mercy. But when the outbreak takes a life-threatening turn, will Grace be able to forgive herself?
If you would like to read the first chapter of Another Dawn, go HERE.
Learn more about Kathryn and her books on her Website.
MY REVIEW:
Because she has been hurt one too many times in the past, Grace Graham is wary about forming relationships and distrustful of people in general, especially men. The only person she really loves is her young son and she has gone to extremes to protect him and keep him healthy. When left with no recourse but to return home to take care of her father as he recovers from surgery, Grace must face the man she blames for her mother’s death. Her son becomes seriously ill and it soon becomes evident that Grace’s choice not to vaccinate has come to affect an entire community, possibly with devastating effects.
I was not sure I even liked Grace and her attitude at the beginning of Another Dawn. She seemed to be one of those ‘victims’ who blames everyone else on the unpleasant things in her life. As the story progressed and Grace was forced to face increasingly difficult situations within her family and in the community, her mindset slowly seemed to change. By the end, Grace had come face to face with many of her inner demons and made several positive choices that transformed her relationships to both her family and fiance.
Another Dawn deals with the controversial subject of the possible danger of vaccinations and whether it is safer to avoid them or to have children vaccinated. It is obvious that Cushman researched the topic extensively and presented both sides of the issue impartially. The scenes with the neighbor lady as she explained the rock circle with stories from the Bible was a unique method of inserting scriptural teaching into the story.
I enjoyed Another Dawn and found myself unable to put it down until I finished it. The characters were well developed and the tension built at just the right rate. I loved the characterization of Dylan and the natural way such wisdom came from his lips. All in all, Another Dawn is a book that I can heartily recommend.
