True North

Oh my! 'True North' is not an easy read, full of heart wrenching dialogue & thoughts - this one will take you to places you never want to go. The effect of a loss of a child on a marriage (and one that was already a little bit strained by the sounds of it) can be devastating. None of us know just how we will react to this hugely immense trial, and having to read about the difficulties that Joe & Lisa go through as they reach this point of decision, 'Divorce' looms on the horizon - and you will feel all the aches and pains along with them. Grief is such a hard thing to describe. Each of us feel it differently. Some will completely break down, while others will appear to handle it with ease. However, what I found interesting from this angle, is the knock on affect it has, so that instead of processing the loss of a child, they have also lost each other in the process, adding another burden/hurdle to be overcome, in the step back to the new 'norm' of living. It was sweet to add the character of 6 year old Brandon - who while making it hard to face the loss, provided healing in his own sweet way. I can relate to that feeling of wanting something so bad, and it just not seeming to come together. Lucky for the readers, this book ends beautifully. Sometimes the endless character dialogue with God, can feel a little tedious, but it works perfectly in this story. Loss of loved ones tend to leave us feeling 'lost' when it comes to our relationship with our Father in Heaven, and reconnecting, or finding Him again, is a pathway journey as real as the relationships that are affected on earth.

I received this book from Pelican Books & Netgalley in return for my honest review. True North by Susan Diane Johnson

Lisa and Joe are dealing with the death of their young son. Both feel guilt about his death. Joe was so busy being a successful divorce attorney that he didn't have much time for his family. Lisa was driving the car and was in a hurry when they were hit by another driver that resulted in the death of her precious son and the father and son in the other car, as well. For months, Joe has avoided Lisa, even going so far as to sleep at his office, rather than coming home. He was determined that he was not good for her and had plans to file for divorce.

Lisa was going to try one last time to save her marriage. She had convinced Joe that he needed to take the Alaskan cruise that they had planned before their son's death to celebrate his 10th birthday. Joe said he would go only on the condition that Lisa would stay home. She agreed but decided to go on the cruise, anyway. This story deals with all the emotions these two people were suffering from and the torment they were feeling.

Could they ever find their way back to one another? Could they let go of the guilt and bring the Lord back into their lives to help them cope with their loss?

This was a beautiful story about what a toll a child's death can have on a family, especially a family that realizes once it is too late that they could and should have done more when they had the time and to be grateful for every day because it is a gift that we may never be able to recapture.

I was given this book in exchange for an honest review.

Meaningful Christian book about the struggles that come from divorce and the complications of that situation. I found this to be a realistic and well-written story, heartfelt but not overly sappy.