Category Archives: Cindy Martinusen-Coloma

Review: Song of the Brokenhearted by Sheila Walsh & Cindy Martinusen-Coloma

Title: Song of the Brokenhearted by Sheila Walsh & Cindy Martinusen-Coloma
Publisher: Thomas Nelson Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Christian, Fiction
Length: 320 pages
Book Rating: B+

Review Copy Obtained from Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

Ava has a loving family, a beautiful house, and a solid faith. Suddenly, her ideal life will be completely broken . . . in the best of ways.

Ava’s life is full of great things. Her daughter is getting married to just the right guy, her husband’s company has kept them financially successful for years, her son is thriving as a high-school football player, and the ministry she started is keeping her busy as she reaches out to those with “broken hearts.”

Then it all falls apart. Ava’s safe world becomes unanchored, and she is forced to face the childhood she’s run away from her entire life. Just as she’s trying to sift through the pieces, the doorbell rings and Ava is confronted with the surprise of her life.

Ava must set out on a journey that takes her back home. Along the way, she encounters God in new and unexpected ways. She sees she’s been hiding her brokenness behind good deeds and the comforts of a safe life. Learning what it means to lose it all is just the start of Ava’s journey—as is the new song God is writing on her heart.

The Review:

Song of the Brokenhearted by Sheila Walsh and Cindy Martinusen-Coloma is an engrossing and thought-provoking novel about keeping faith in God during both the good times and bad. Ava Kent has a happy marriage, financial security and two well-adjusted, happy kids. She also has a successful ministry where she assists people in times of crisis. But when her world slowly begins to disintegrate, Ava’s faith is tested and unresolved issues from her childhood begin to haunt her.

Having left her dysfunctional and abusive childhood behind, Ava Kent has a picture perfect life. She and her husband, Dane, live an affluent life and they have a close relationship with their two children, Siena and Jason. Ava is very involved with her church; she hosts a weekly bible study and she reaches out to those in need. Siena is off at college, and engaged to a wonderful man. Jason is a starter on his high school football team, and his future is bright. Dane’s business is thriving and their financial future is secure. And then, all at once, Ava’s family is faced with one problem after another and Ava is forced to face the past she thought she left behind.

There are two things in Song of the Brokenhearted that really resonated with me. The first is the fact that God is a loving God, not a vengeful one. God is not punishing us for our sins when adversity strikes. Everyone is faced with misfortune at one time or another and bad things happen to good people. We are responsible for our decisions, both good and bad, and we must accept responsibility for our actions instead of assigning blame.

The other thing that struck a chord with me is how open-minded and non-judgmental Ava is in regards to her ministry. She does not judge the people she helps. It does not matter what their beliefs are, she only sees a person in need of assistance and she is there to provide it. Ava beautifully personifies what it truly means to be a Christian.

Song of the Brokenhearted is one of the best faith-based novels I have read. Shelia Walsh and Cindy Martinusen-Coloma demonstrate how easily a person’s circumstances can change and the importance of having faith in God during good times and the bad. It is also teaches a powerful lesson in forgiveness and the importance of making peace with our past so we can successfully move on.

A powerful and heartfelt novel that I highly recommend to anyone who has ever faced difficult times.

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Filed under Christian, Cindy Martinusen-Coloma, Contemporary, Fiction, Rated B+, Review, Sheila Walsh, Song of the Brokenhearted, Thomas Nelson Publishing