When Jana returns from a missions trip, she discovers that her pastor husband has left with his secretaryalong with their bank account. Humiliated, penniless, pregnant, and very much alone, Jana reluctantly turns to her mother, Eleanor, in desperation. Eleanor is haunted by her own guilt and pain, and the arrival of her daughter only serves as a daily reminder of the memories she has long kept hidden away. Will a delightfully eccentric aunt become a catalyst between these two women? Will they allow God's spirit--and God's people--to bring true healing...and a future filled with love?.
Adultery, incest, drugs, attempted suicide, foster parent abuse, murder, rapethese and other traumas feature in this latest from a bestselling Christian author. When the pregnant Jana McGuire returns from a mission trip, she's stunned to find that her husband, a pastor, has run off with his secretary and cleaned out her bank account. Angry and grieving, she moves to Montana to live with her estranged and unbelievably heartless mother, Eleanor, and quirky octogenarian aunt Taffy, the most likable character in the book. Peterson explains Eleanor's cruelty with flashback from her childhood on a commune.
Although Eleanor's incestuous relationship with her father in these flashback chapters is the axis of the story, much of what occurs feels vaguely like filler. Wooden emotions ('Why is this happening?') and Christian clich abound. When Jana asks the 'other woman' to have Thanksgiving dinner with her as an act of forgiveness, readers may find the plot twist difficult to swallow. Some victims of incest may appreciate the story as a vehicle for emotional healing.