50164

This was the first Francine Rivers book I ever read! I couldn’t get enough and immediately got my hands on Redeeming Love and then the Mark of the Lion trilogy. I’ve been a fan of her writing ever since!

Sierra Madrid’s perfectly happy life is turned upside down when her husband accepts his dream job and uproots their family to move to California. Her ancestor, Mary Kathryn McMurray, tells of her own troubles on the Oregon Trail in her journal that Sierra finds in her mother’s attic. Although the two women live in very different worlds, they face similar problems in their marriages and relationships with God, and ultimately must learn the same lessons of faith, humility, and trusting in God’s goodness and sovereignty. ( )

Very good book. This book chronicles the married lives of two women, one of modern times and her ancestor, a pioneer woman through her journal. It also mirrors how God is in control all the time and that he is good and works all things out for good for them that love him. Life is hard, just like it is for everyone and both Sierra and the pioneer Mary struggle to survive. Will they find love? But first, they must find the one that truly loves them, God. ( )

Fantastic! One of my all time favorite books. This was a re-read...for the third time! ( )

I had high hopes for this book due to having enjoyed The Atonement Child and And the Shofar Blew, however, I was disappointed.

There are two stories which are meant to be running parallel and presumably woven together. But, they don't actually fit with each other and could easily be extracted from the book and told independently. The first story is about a gradually declining marriage leading to an affair and the other is told through the journal of a girl that used to live in the first couple's family home. I lost interest in the second story about halfway through the book so skipped over the remaining journal entries. I have read a number of books with two storylines and they really need to either be properly entwined so the reader has to read both or both as intriguing as each other. These were not.

This book was far too long. I am aware that this is a Rivers trait and actually the books that I have previously enjoyed were also long but held my interest.

The main characters were both selfish particularly the husband. The author is clearly making the point that it takes two to cause problems in a marriage and that blaming each other rather than working towards reconciliation is not the Christian response. I agree with this to a certain degree. However, I feel that she goes too far--the husband uproots his family against the wishes of his wife to pursue his selfish dreams. He forces them into a materially wealthy social group that she isn't ready for and begins spending more and more time at work, he ignores her requests to discuss things, his behaviour just gets worse and worse.....I won't ruin the storyline but I think in this case the author has unfortunately made a case for women to allow themselves to be treated like doormats. AND then to take all of the responsibility for the problems.

The Christian message was also somewhat lost. Some of the characters experience something of a conversion which seems to be about falling in love with Jesus rather than understanding the truth of the Gospel. There is no clear repentance or turning away from sin although the characters do refer to changes due to their belief in God. There is also a section about God being found through Catholicism (as well as Protestantism)--it almost reads as if we can get to God any way we like as long as we are sincere. It is not clear that the only way is through Jesus and His death on the cross.

I didn't read the part about a character suggesting that someone who had died may have been saved without knowing jesus due to being sincere which I read in another review...I would have objected to that as well.

I don't recommend this as it is so long and full of arguing back and forth. I wouldn't describe it as profitable or edifying. In a way it reminded me of the Christian movie Fireproof which I do recommend. But in both I don't think the heart issues will be as easily resolved in real life as they seem to be in fiction. The only good point the book made really was that giving up on a marriage isn't the solution and that all things can be worked through with God's help.

There is no bad language, very limited non-graphic violence and some romantic scenes which are not graphic but may make some uncomfortable. ( )