Waiting for Morning | Book Review

"I think that's why God's so good to me," Hannah had smiled pleasantly. "He knows I'm not good at forgiving."

That was Hannah's childhood thought. Little did she know that the biggest trial of her life would occur when she was happily married with two daughters in their teens. Little did she know that the forgiveness she had briefly mentioned as a child, the anger she struggled with then, would blindside her in full force.

I finished this book with a "wow." I admire Karen Kingsbury for tackling hard issues like drunk driving, suicide, anger, and bitterness--and balancing them with the truths of God's Word. Her writing is well-researched and detailed. It is realistic--painfully realistic. I could easily envision real lives placed in the shoes of Hannah, Jenny, Carol, Matt, and Bryan.

At first, the multiple viewpoint changes were confusing, but as I got to know the characters, I looked forward to reading their different perspectives.

Hannah's story...it was amazing to read how she fought against all of the hymns and verses brought to mind. It hurt to read her bitter and angry progression--yet a good illustration of how it can overtake a person. She sought to find peace in the revenge of Mr. Wesley...yet instead found herself being shackled with bitterness. Her fight against forgiveness rang too true--but so did God's persistent reminder of Scripture and His promises. Oh my goodness! Hannah's restoration to the mercy of God was so beautiful!! There is no other word for it and the beauty is that the restoration is Biblically true.

Jenny's story...though not as detailed as Hannah's story, I loved Jenny and my heart cried out for her, a girl struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts while her mom was busy fighting what she thought was the most important battle.

Bryan's story...I'll admit, I was so happy the way Bryan's story turned out! How beautiful to see him using Scripture to combat his thirst for beer!

For those who are conscious of these things, there is a mention of drunk man seeing demons as well as mentions of unmarried couples living together. Nothing in detail though. There is a suicidal attempt with a bit of detail. Because of these things, I would personally recommend this book to readers twenty and above.

A couple of favorite quotes:

When Hannah finally prayed again: "Rather she had simply reached the end of herself, of everything she knew about coping."

"She had suffered much this past year, but it had been worse because she had exchanged the truth about God for a lie."

*I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.*

About the Author

Karen Kingsbury is a USA Today and New York Times best-selling author, with nearly twenty million books in print. Dubbed the "Queen of Christian Fiction" by Time magazine, Karen has written more than forty Life-Changing Drama, which encompasses the Redemption, Firstborn, and Sunrise series, as well as stand-alone novels such as Like Dandelion Dust, When Joy Came to Stay and This Side of Heaven. Karen and her husband, Don, live in the Pacific Northwest and are parents to six children, including three adopted from Haiti. Visit her website at www.KarenKingsbury.com.