Title: Ours for a Season by Kim Vogel Sawyer
Publisher: WaterBrook
Genre: Contemporary, Christian, Women’s Fiction
Length: 352 pages
Book Rating: B+
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley
Summary:
An Old Order Mennonite couple’s vows and beliefs are challenged in this stirring contemporary novel for fans of Cindy Woodsmall or Shelley Shepherd Gray.
Anthony and Marty Hirschler are part of an Old Order Mennonite community in Pine Hill, Indiana. The couple has grown apart since a doctor confirmed they would never have children. Marty longs to escape the tight-knit area where large families are valued, and the opportunity to do so arises when her childhood friend, Brooke Spalding, resurfaces with the wild idea of rebuilding a ghost town into a resort community. Brooke hires Anthony to help with the construction, drawing the Hirschlers away from Indiana and into her plan, and then finds herself diagnosed with cancer. Moral complications with Brooke’s vision for a casino as part of the resort and the discovery of a runaway teenager hiding on the property open up a world neither the Hirschlers nor Brooke had considered before. Will they be able to overcome their challenges and differences to help the ones among them hurting the most?
Review:
Ours for a Season by Kim Vogel Sawyer is an emotional journey of self discovery, resilience and faith.
Marty Hirschler and her husband Anthony have been married for sixteen years but the past few years have been quite difficult. The discovery she would never have children has sent Marty into a crisis of faith. She has also withdrawn from Anthony and the rest of their community. Her best friend Brooke Spalding’s proposal for Anthony to head up a huge restoration project is the answer to Marty’s prayers. Upon their arrival, Marty discovers Brooke has just been diagnosed with cancer and she refuses to allow her best friend to go through her upcoming ordeal on her own. Will Marty finally decide to trust God to help her as she encounters many unexpected challenges in the upcoming months?
Marty has closed her heart to both God and Anthony as she struggles to accept she will never have the family she dreamed of. She is bitter, full of sorrow and resentful as she pushes everyone, including Anthony, away from her. With Anthony gone on yet another construction project, Marty makes a fervent plea to escape her regular life. With her prayer answered, she is reunited with Brooke and she finds purpose in aiding her friend in her battle. Over the next several months, Marty gradually begins feeling hopeful for her future.
Anthony is just as disappointed about not having children as Marty, but he remains certain this is part of God’s plan. His faith never wavers as he and his beloved wife traverse their new course, but he fears Marty will never find her way back to him. Anthony is encouraged by the changes in Marty and he treads lightly when it appears their marriage might finally recover from the devastating blow dealt to them.
Brooke has come a long way from her dysfunctional and poverty stricken childhood. She is a successful businesswoman who is on the cusp of realizing her goal. Learning she has cancer is a turning point as she realizes her professional success is not the legacy she wants to leave behind. Brooke is fiercely independent and she at first resists Marty’s efforts to help her. Initially feeling unworthy of God’s love and grace, Brooke discovers the peace and joy missing from her life as she discovers the healing power of her spiritual journey.
Ours for a Season by Kim Vogel Sawyer is a powerful novel of faith, hope and friendship. All of the characters are well-drawn with relatable flaws and realistic growth as they begin to heal. Kim Vogel Sawyer tackles some very difficult subject matter such as infertility, cancer and human trafficking which results in a thought-provoking storyline that has quite a bit of depth. I absolutely loved and highly recommend this uplifting novel of resilience and faith to readers of Christian fiction.
