In this delightful novel written for a female audience, author Sharon Mondragon skillfully blends romance, laugh-out-loud humor, narratives of brokenness and reconciliation, the ambiance of Southern hospitality and charisma, and biblical wisdom.
In the small town of Raeburne’s Ferry, Ga., 24-year-old Sarah Elizabeth McCready lives with her parents and her grandmother—known as Grandma Ruth—an indomitable, respected personage in the community who has been bedridden for the past three years.
As a single woman employed at a local accounting firm, Sarah Elizabeth knows she’s the subject of gossip as people wonder why two years ago her engagement to a young man was broken off. With no intention of starting a new relationship, Sarah Elizabeth wants only to get on with her career.
However, since Grandma Ruth can no longer attend community events, especially funerals, which she always faithfully attended when she was still mobile, she enlists—rather, demands!—Sarah Elizabeth’s attendance, with the expectation of a full report afterward. Sarah Elizabeth explains Grandma Ruth’s influence in her life: “Being bedridden simply meant she channeled her considerable energy into staying connected to the life of Raeburne’s Ferry by any means necessary. I was so used to saying ‘Yes, Grandma’ from the time I could talk that when I came home from college to work at Crawford and Associates, she managed to take over my life before I even realized what was happening.”
When on his deathbed an influential community member makes a shocking confession to his wife, the story spreads and the community of Raeburne’s Ferry is scandalized. Grandma Ruth joins forces with Sarah Elizabeth to discover the truth. After all, the man’s wife is Grandma Ruth’s best friend, and she wants to help in any way she can.
While Grandma Ruth works the phone lines and entertains guests who might have information, Sarah Elizabeth discovers pertinent facts in her daily encounters with colleagues and friends. Problems and confusion multiply when a woman who has long been absent returns to the community and stirs up trouble.
As the mystery of the scandal is resolved, Sarah Elizabeth comes to terms with her broken heart and her spiritual struggles about God’s presence in her pain. She learns that trust and fresh beginnings are always possible through God’s power and direction.
(Kregel Publications)
About the Author
Sonya VanderVeen Feddema is a freelance writer and a member of Covenant CRC in St. Catharines, Ontario.