Monday, November 10, 2008

Until We Reach Home by Lynn Austin


This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Until We Reach Home

Bethany House (October 1, 2008)

by

Lynn Austin



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

For many years, Lynn Austin nurtured a desire to write but frequent travels and the demands of her growing family postponed her career. When her husband's work took Lynn to Bogota, Colombia, for two years, she used the B.A. she'd earned at Southern Connecticut State University to become a teacher. After returning to the U.S., the Austins moved to Anderson, Indiana, Thunder Bay, Ontario, and later to Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Lynn resigned from teaching to write full-time in 1992. She has published twelve novels. Three of her historical novels, Hidden Places, Candle in the Darkness, and Fire by Night have won Christy Awards in 2002, 2003, and 2004 for excellence in Christian Fiction. Fire by Night was also one of only five inspirational fiction books chosen by Library Journal for their top picks of 2003, and All She Ever Wanted was chosen as one of the five inspirational top picks of 2005.

Lynn's novel Hidden Places has been made into a movie for the Hallmark Channel, starring actress Shirley Jones. Ms Jones received a 2006 Emmy Award nomination for her portrayal of Aunt Batty in the film.

Among her lastest books are A Proper Pursuit and A Woman's Place


ABOUT THE BOOK

Life in Sweden seems like an endless winter for three sisters after their mother's and father's suicide. Ellin feels the weight of responsibility for her sisters' welfare and when it circumstances become unbearable, she writes to her relatives in Chicago, pleading for help.

Joining sixteen million other immigrants who left their homelands for America between 1890 and 1920, Ellin, Kirsten, and Sophia begin the long, difficult journey. Enduring the ocean voyage in steerage and detention on Ellis Island, their story is America's story. And in a journey fraught with hardships, each woman will come to understand her secret longings and the meaning of home.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Until We Reach Home, go HERE

MY REVIEW:

The year is 1897 and Elin, Kirsten and Sophia Carlson find themselves orphaned and working as servants on the farm that used to be the place of happy memories. However, death had introduced far more than sorrow into the lives of these three sisters. Elin has fallen victim to dark circumstances that cause her to live every moment in fear for her and her sisters’ safety. Kirsten has fallen in love, but she is oblivious to the rumors that are swirling through the village about her father’s death and how her own reputation has suffered. Sophia is battling the same dark and overwhelming fears that plagued her father, and she is desperately trying to fight for her very sanity amid all of the changes.


Elin chooses to act on behalf of her sisters and arranges for the three of them to travel to their uncle’s home in America. The journey is filled with a host of trials that only continue to plague the little family of orphans once they arrive in their new homeland. However, amid the darkness of their circumstances, Sophia begins to cry out to God, and God begins to open her eyes to the many ways He has answered her prayers. Instead of the shy, fearful younger sister, Sophia blossoms amid the promises of God’s word, and she proves to be a mighty ballast amid the storm that rages around the three sisters.


Each of the sisters must learn the truth that all of God’s children must eventually face and that is that God has a plan for each of us. Trials do come to us in a variety of ways, but it is our trust in God that sees us through and allows us to grow from even the darkest of circumstances. Lynn Austin’s story Until We Reach Home encapsulates the essence of that truth and takes the reader on a very realistic and difficult journey through the early years of our infant nation and the lives of the immigrants that poured through the gates of Ellis Island. The story of Elin, Kirsten and Sophia Carlson will be one you will long remember! If you love a good historical with a healthy dose of romance and heartache, then you will find Lynn Austin’s latest novel a real delight! Pick up your copy today!


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