Sharon Garlough Brown never disappoints. She writes with the heart of a spiritual director - open hearted and looking for the gracious invitations of God sprinkled throughout one’s journey through life.
Feathers of Hope addresses the challenges of aging, retirement, discernment and seasons of confusion and grief. Such a beautiful book!

This author always gives us realistic characters to whom we can relate. She takes everyday situations, and the emotions of them, into her story and it draws us in. This is a follow-up story to Shades of Light and Remember Me. For storylines that are not in our own lives, she can help us to see new points-of-view and learn about challenges that others face.

An insightful read that pulled me closer to The Word and depending on God. Enjoyed and recommending this wonderful book, Feathers of Hope by Sharon Brown. Looking forward to reading what comes next.

Feathers of Hope is the story of three women: Katherine Rhodes, the preacher who is about to retire from her role as director of the New Hope Retreat Center, Wren Crawford, her great-niece, an artist and social worker turned cleaner, and Sarah, Katherine’s daughter and the mother of two teenage girls. It’s a novel about relationships: the relationships between the characters, and their relationships with God.

This is the first book I’ve read by Sharon Garlough Brown, although I’ve often seen her novels recommended as novels with solid Christian content and spiritual depth, and I have to agree with that assessment. Brown’s characters follow Biblical Christianity, not the me-me-me self-help variety often portrayed in the media. It’s both challenging and refreshing.

I especially liked the way feathers of Hope addressed some difficult issues that aren’t often addressed in Christian fiction, issues like mental health, women preachers, and racism inside and outside the church. They are all big issues with no easy answer, ant it was refreshing to see them tackled fairly, but without trying to find an answer for the unanswerable.

Feathers of Hope is the third book in the Shades of Light series, following Shades of light and Remember Me. I do recommend reading the series in order. I didn’t – I haven’t read either of the other books, and I found the early part of the story difficult because I didn’t know the characters or understand the relationships between them.

(I’ve just found Shades of Light on my Kindle. Oops. But guess what’ I’ll be reading next?) Recommended for Christians who want to read Christian fiction with depth and truth. Thanks to InterVarsity Press and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

I really wanted and expected to love this book—and there was a lot to love in here. Wren’s delight in paintings thrilled me; I’m not an artist the way she is, but I loved seeing the world of creativity through her eyes. I also appreciated Katherine’s outlook and desire to keep a clean book between herself and the Lord. That’s something I desire, too, and seeing it appear in characters in a fictional story is a real blessing.

I was disappointed, though, that instead of turning to the scriptures for meditation or inspiration for prayer, characters typically lit a candle, held a “holding cross”, or studied certain aspects of a painting. It’s not wrong to use physical things to turn our hearts and attention to the Lord, but I feel like the way things were described here were bordering on New Age-type ideas. I hope I’m wrong, but that was the feeling I got. There was very little scripture quotation in this book, compared to the Sensible Shoes series, for example, and that disappointed me when the characters are so obviously “Christian”.

With that said, there was a lot of good in the book, but for me, the distractions from God and His Word ended up overshadowing almost anything else I may have gotten out of it. Dealing with life change, healing, and forgiveness, there are some beautiful points here, but I’m disappointed to say that I can’t fully recommend this read.

I was given a review copy of this book, and this is my honest opinion of it.

For the first 100 or so pages I was grappling with whether I'd be able to get through the rest of the book. It was slow, not a lot happened and I was getting a little depressed reading the latest in Kit and Wren's stories.

And then the Spirit touched me using Garlough Brown's gentle style. I was able to put myself into the story and walk alongside these brave women as they did life together and apart. Both Kit and Wren were healing and we get to walk with them through this season. Kit is retiring and she is confronted with uncertainty about her future, being replaced in a job she loved, and issues with her daughter, Sarah, the loss of her son, Micah and ex-husband, Robert. It's a lot for anyone and it's beautiful how Garlough Brown gives us a front row seat into the grace of Jesus as He uses the Holy Spirit to minister to her. It's spiritual formation and all its messiness, beauty and mystery.

Wren, similarly, is struggling to re-orient herself after the sudden death of her best friend. She's found solace in Kit, her great-aunt's companionship and tranquil home, while juggling two cleaning jobs.

The story deals with many topical matters: racial diversity, ageing, mental health, aged care facilities, retirement, loss of loved ones, mothers and daughters, daughters and step mothers, broken marriages and more. And Garlough Brown doesn't shy away from showing us that even though Kit, in particular, is a spiritual director and has a strong walk with God, struggles with the same issues we all do. Spiritual formation is a gradual process that really never ends, that indeed we require grace and more grace to allow God to keep doing His work in us as we join Him in His redemptive story. And how important relationships are in His story. There';s no point trying to do it on your own.

In the end I didn't really want the story to end and wonder what might come next in Garlough Brown's imagination.

I was very fortunate to receive an early ebook copy from IVP via NetGalley with no expectation of a favourable review.

Sharon Garlough Brown is back with a new novel. Feathers of Hope is a sequel to her previous book Shades of Light and both are in the tradition of her fabulous Sensible Shoes series.

Feathers of Hope focuses on grief in various forms and for a variety of losses. Depression, panic, and anxiety are also noted. As the main characters wrestle with loss and interact with other individuals throughout the book, Brown leads readers through a spectrum of emotional responses to the issues raised through the story. As in prevous works, Brown does not hide the very real concerns of both Kit, who functions as a spiritual director and retreat leader, and Wren, the young woman who lives with her. Several new characters play a more prominent role in both as individuals who add to the range of emotions exhibited and who provide wisdom and clarity--or both. I am hopeful that these new characters may play a role in future works. The topic of racial justice is introduced in this work as well.

As in the previous work, art and specifically the painting of Vincent Van Gogh play a major role in the story. An accompanying study guide is available that provides scripture readings, reflection questions, and opportunity to reflect on the painting mentioned. Feathers of Hope is a marvelous story to read straight through for enjoyment and then to read a second time with the study guide which will provide a much richer experience. Highly recommended for reading by individuals or for a book group.

I received a complementary copy from InterVarsity Press via Net Galley. I was not required to provide a positive review.

This is the journey of life, the stages we go through, the lessons we learn along the way, the things that happen in life, letting thing go, the challenges that are faced and where you end up from them. This story is the whole journey, the shedding of who she was, the transition of not knowing what will happen, and becoming who she is meant to become.
An amazing story that I could relate to, because I have gone through many of the things, and it was nice to realize that others go through the things too.
I received an ARC from InterVarsity Press, IVP through NetGalley.

Having read both the Sensible Shoes series and the other two books in the Shades of Light series, I was really excited for this read. And for the most part, it lived up to my expectations.

(The Amazon page for this book notes that the Shades of Light series can be read in any order; I'd personally recommend reading in order, though one would not have to read the Sensible Shoes series first. I personally got more out of it for doing so, but don't let it stop you from picking up the read!)

Brown, as ever, deals with some heavy topics within _Feathers of Hope_: race, racial justice, depression, and mental health, in particular. By and large I felt she dealt with each well; I will note a standalone reference to "becoming [one's] best self" (which, I'll admit, is almost guaranteed to make me snarf at least a little bit). And race/racial justice...I'm not even 100% sure what to write yet, just within an hour of finishing this read. I liked how she dealt with it, but I also didn't. And with some of the other books I've seen published by IVP lately, I would just say...I'm not positive I come to all of the same conclusions as those in the book do. I did appreciate the recommended resources at the end, and am interested in reading more; while I have a few concerns with some and the potential for critical race theory, I have not (yet) done my homework on that front and cannot make a definitive statement.

I'd love for the conversation to continue to flow both directions, with Christ ever at the center--the most important thing being His glory, not our own.

But back to _Feathers of Light_.

This story wraps up Katherine Rhodes' era, as it were--one that began in _Sensible Shoes_. It's absolutely a fitting ending, and I'll be curious where Brown goes next--exploring any of the other characters, or a new direction. I loved that some (more!) characters from _Sensible Shoes_ appeared, and wished Charissa had gotten more than a passing mention. But, there's only so much of the word count to go around. :)

A thought-provoking read, as ever, and one that will prompt further study in the Word, prayer, and introspection.

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.

I received an eARC of the book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Sharon Garlough Brown has become one of my favorite fiction authors. Even though the characters and storylines are fiction, she inserts such wise, deep, biblical truths within the pages of her books. My huge takeaway from this work was regarding forgiveness. If we believe God has forgiven us but won’t forgive ourselves we believe ourselves to be bigger than God. It is a manifestation of our pride believing our standards are higher than God’s. Wow!

This book was a wonderful read! It will make you stop and think about your life. It is full of hope and encouragement and will keep you turning the pages. I highly recommend this book.

Character-driven fiction tops my list of favorite genres. It enables an author to go deep with a theme or a cultural trend as it lands in the life of her characters. Throughout Sharon Garlough Brown’s writing, her characters have dug deep into spiritual formation practices and the accountability that community provides. Katherine Rhodes has served as true north for the other characters, faithfully pointing them toward hope in Christ.

Feathers of Hope chronicles Katherine’s confrontation with an unexpected blind spot in her thinking and in her ministry. As she moves toward retirement from her role as director of New Hope Center, she runs head-on into her dismissive reaction to issues around racial justice. Thanks be to God, we are never too old to experience transformation!

Readers of Shades of Light will welcome an update on Katherine’s niece, Wren Crawford, her healing process, and her efforts to stay in healthy space with her thinking and emotions. Together, aunt and niece draw inspiration from the crimson feathers of a cardinal and live out the discipline of stewarding affliction.

Without fail, teachers find themes from ordinary, down-to-earth living make their way into our teaching, a process that takes Katherine well beyond her comfort zone. Reigning in “the rush to judgment” may well be the prevailing challenge of spiritual formation for those of us approaching Katherine’s age bracket, and she models the discipline in ways that manage to be both convicting and empowering.

It’s a rare work of fiction that has me dog-earing pages so I can revisit them later alongside an open Bible, but I’ve discovered this is the best way to take in Sharon Garlough Brown’s work. Stories with an undercurrent of poured-out wisdom invite me into growth and a more intentional surrender to the work of the Spirit in my life and my ministry.

Many thanks to InterVarsity Press for providing a copy of this book to facilitate my review which is, of course, offered freely and with honesty.

I was attracted to Feathers of Hope by its beautiful cover, but I stayed because of the story. The characters were previously introduced in an earlier book. I was not aware of that; if I had realized it, I would have read the other book first. That would have helped in understanding the back story.

This is a story of loss and regret, but also of faith and perseverance. It is sometimes uncomfortable as it deals with hard issues and difficult topics, reminding us that sometimes life is messy. Yet it deals with these topics in way that points us to hope, healing, and reconciliation in Jesus.

I received an advance copy from the publisher and Net Galley in exchange for my opinion.

Hope. This world needs hope more than ever. Not only is the world we live in constantly changing, but we too are also changing. As we age, our perspectives, our physical abilities, and our perceptions of our needs will be strangely different. One can either resist the change for as long as possible or embrace change as soon as one can. The former reclines in fear while the latter nudges forward in hope. What better way to describe these transitions through a novel that spells out the mental, emotional and spiritual aspects of change. Centering around the lives of three women, this book offers readers many insights into life transitions, losses, and love. Like birds that molt gradually, eventually, one has to face up to a "dramatic shedding of the old." Recognizing how many people are creatures of habit and largely resistant to change, sometimes, we just need to learn to let go and let God, as the popular saying goes. Katherine Rhodes (aka Kit) has been serving as spiritual director of "New Hope Retreat Center." She has helped many people through many spiritual retreats, giving wise guidance as well as spiritual direction. As she prepares to transition to retirement, she makes a bold request for the board to look for a replacement with a dramatically different skill set in order to keep up with the times. This might seem easy to say but to surrender the comfort zones of one's past successes to another is another challenge altogether. Katherine was bold to ask for an "upgrade" from what she could offer. The board managed to find a promising candidate who checked all the boxes. Whether it checks Katherine's insecurities remains to be seen. Even as she prepares to do her last retreat, she has to deal with requests for more retreats by her.

Then, there is Wren Crawford, Katherine's great-niece who offers caregiving to residents of a nursing home at Willow Springs. For all the good and kind deeds she did for the residents, she has to deal with terrible accusations by others over the "irreparable harm" to her best friend Casey's relationship with Brooke, and her subsequent grief over Casey's death. The author masterfully helps us enter into Wren's world and how she deals with the many emotional challenges of losing a best friend. The third woman in the novel is Sarah Kersten, daughter of Katherine. Like her mother, she is tenacious and strong-willed. The author skillfully uses their relationship to explore the contours of love as described in 1 Corinthians 13, the great chapter on love.

Despite the title of the book, this novel is essentially a narrative of faith, hope, and love. Faith in dealing with transitions; hope in knowing that the next phase in life would be better; and love in the entire process of change. Transitions involve a willingness to change, and change requires the willingness to participate in the transitional process. There are many moments with which readers can identify. What does it mean to step down from a long-held position? How do we deal with retirement? How do we nurture someone to take over our role? How do we manage our relationships and our mental health? How do we deal with misunderstandings? What about recovery from depression? Brown does not shy away from writing with a faith perspective. Many of the characters in the novel are Christians. Believers would be familiar with many biblical themes in the book. Themes such as biblical stewardship, prayer, pain, suffering, hope, love, redemption, and especially spiritual direction. No matter what stage of life we are in, I am sure this book would resonate with our own life transitions.

This is the first Sharon Garlough Brown book that I've read, and it certainly will not be the last.

Rating: 4.25 stars of 5.

conrade
This book has been provided courtesy of InterVarsity Press and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.

The three main female characters in Feathers of Hope are Wren, who is still coming to terms with her best friend’s death as well as managing her own mental health; her Great Aunt Kit with whom she lives, who is entering a new season of life; and Kit’s daughter, Sarah, who is learning better how to communicate with her stepmother and grow closer to her own mother. All three women face their own challenges in “Feathers of Hope” and as a result deepen their relationship with one another.

Sharon’s book reminded me of the importance of good, healthy friendships in my own life. How we can learn from each other, support each other and hold one another accountable.

I learnt more about forgiveness, God’s grace and his love for each one of us. It was good to read how each of us always has something new to learn about our relationship with our loving Heavenly Father.

There is a beautiful metaphor within the book about a bird moulting which is likened to when we go through difficult times, and then there is new growth, new feathers, called pinfeathers. These are sharp, uncomfortable and painful as they come forth, which means the bird needs more care and love during this season. This metaphor grips Wren and she thinks more about shedding and renewal, loss and hope. She realises that the bird before and after moulting will never be the same because struggles always leave their mark. I too have been gripped by the metaphor and it has given me much to think about.

I adore unique fiction, and this is such an interesting premise. I recommend because of the story itself, writing style, and its ability to transport you into a different world.

Feathers of Hope

Feathers of Hope is the latest novel by the author of the Sensible Shoes series, which I loved. Though this book is a separate novel, it does follow up on some of the characters from the Sensible Shows club.

The main characters in Feathers of Hope are Katherine, who is retiring from her position as spiritual director at the New Hope Retreat Center, and her great-niece Wren. Both of them are on journeys filled with growing pains, complicated relationships, and hope.

While I appreciate that Katherine’s job naturally lends itself to this novel being introspective, the navel-gazing was just overdone in my opinion. I know very few people who are as self-aware as every character in this novel seemed to be. The result was a loss in authenticity in the story. That, combined with an overall dragging in the storyline is why I am rating it 3 stars.

Sharon Garlough Brown remains a go-to author for me, but sadly this one just wasn’t my favorite.

Thank you to Netgalley and IVP Press for the advanced review copy. Feathers of Hope releases on April 19, 2022.

The cover of the book drew me in at first and the depth of the characters held me and kept me flipping the pages. It wasn’t until the middle of the book where something was a little off for me. I quickly realized that it was that this is the third book in a series and I missed the first two. That said, I am still rating it a 5 star as even though I may have missed some of the back story - I was throughly blessed with this story. Life change can be so difficult and it was encouraging to read about how Katherine handled the transition of working to retirement. The author was able to weave in her friend Wren’s story of healing from mental health issues. It was such a refreshing perspective to see how the author showed us that a person can deal with their mental health and still live as a productive member of society. So many authors paint mental illness as a end rather than something to live with and through. At times I found myself getting angry with Katherine’s daughter Sarah as I found her rude and pushy. - I don’t say that as a negative but rather a positive. It’s refreshing to read a novel that is not mere fluff and stirs up my emotions. It makes me ponder my own life and encourages me to explore why I am reacting the way that I am. Feathers of Hope has deep Christian teaching and it felt like I was not only reading a fiction book but a book of application as well. I would most definitely recommend this book to others.

I was given a copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher for my honest review and opinion.

#NetGalley #FeatherofHope #SharonGarloughBrown

I'm not usually a fan of Christian fiction, but in 2020, at the height of the pandemic, I discovered Sharon Garlough Brown’s book Sensible Shoes. I found it a gentle, comforting read, and an ideal way to switch off from all the craziness, so I was pleased to have the opportunity to read Feathers Of Hope.

Like Sensible Shoes, it is thoughtful and compassionate. It follows the story of Katherine Rhodes as she prepares to retire from her position as director at a retreat centre, and her great niece, Wren Crawford, as she seeks to recover from a period of depression and find answers to questions she has around the death of her best friend Casey.

I appreciated the insights into the spiritual lives of the various characters and I liked how the author touched on some significant topics – racism, mental health issues, dealing with change and loss – in a thought-provoking way in the context of the story. The characters are presented in a realistic way. Each has their flaws, but they are also presented with a compassion and understanding that leaves you rooting for them.

One thing I didn’t realise is that this book is the third book in a trilogy. Shades Of Light and Remember Me come before it, and there were times when I felt I was missing out on the backstory slightly. A few of the characters from Sensible Shoes also made appearances in the book and while it was interesting to see how their lives had turned out years later, I felt I had missed parts of their story too. The book was still highly enjoyable as a stand-alone book, but I think it would work best to read the books in order: to read the four books in the Sensible Shoes series and then the first two parts of the trilogy before coming to this one.

5 stars
I, unfortunately, did not know this was the 3rd in a series. So, I missed a lot of backstory. Those familiar with this series will love this book, others will find it hard to follow.