Faith N Fiction Saturday: The First Book you remember reading

Today's Question: We all come to faith in Jesus at different times in our lives and we all come to Christian fiction at different times, too! What's the first book in the Christian fiction genre you can remember reading? What was your impression of it? Did it make you want to read more or less?

Moody Press published some of the earliest Christian Fiction, and my older sister actually introduced me to some of their books in my early teens. I tried to remember this "first" experience with Christian fiction in an earlier post, and I remembered reading Not My Will.
However, when I got home and started looking at some of my older books, I discovered I'd forgotten one! Christmas Carol Kauffman wrote a book entitled Light From Heaven. And I know without a doubt this was my first experience with Christian fiction. My copy is yellow with age.

Published first in 1948 and republished in 1965, this is a story that deals with child abuse. The mother is a Christian, and the father is supposed to be one, (deacon in the church ect...) but he is very abusive to his children - particularly his first born, Joseph. This story is so very heartbreaking in many places, and I remember as a teen I cried a lot as I read it. But the hope of Christ and the victories won make this a very poignant and unforgettable story. After all these years, (hey, I'm only 41!) I still cherish this book.

It wasn't until several years later that I was introduced to the work of Brock and Bodie Thoene, and at that point I was so thrilled and amazed that such terrific books existed that I was always first in line to buy the latest book. My older sister and I (there are 10 years between us) have always shared a love for books, and even after all these years, Christian fiction is a common thread we enjoy no matter what other life storms are raging.

I've read a lot of many different genres for many different years. As an English major in college, I covered a lot of the classics - but Christian fiction? THAT is my passion! Today's market is so huge and varied compared to what it was 20 years ago. I am living a dream come true to be able to read and review so many great books! Thanks Amy for another fun Saturday post!