Worth A Thousand Words by Stacy Hawkins Adams - My Review

“Sometimes God leads us to a foreign land so we can take our eyes off ourselves and our drama, and focus on him.” (p.35)


Indigo Burns, and her entire family, are led into some foreign and uncomfortable lands in Stacy Hawkins Adams second novel in the Jubilant Soul series, Worth a Thousand Words. Indigo has just received her bachelor’s degree and has a summer internship and graduate school ahead of her. The love of her life, Brian Harper is soon to leave for Officer Basic in the Navy, and he too is filled with dreams for the future. With everything so beautiful and full of promise, no one in the Burns family could possibly anticipate the changes that Summer would bring. Would they seek God’s face or their own wisdom to navigate these unknown waters?


To my knowledge, Worth a Thousand Words is the first of Stacy Adams novels I’ve ever read, and the story tackled some unexpected and difficult topics. The Burns family - Indigo in particular – is the centerpiece of the story, and they are a family with strong faith in God and a deep desire to serve Him even when life is difficult. This is also a close-knit family, because there are strong relationships among cousins, aunts and siblings that play a key role in helping Indigo to make some very difficult decisions. This story took me back to that same, promise-filled time in my own life, and it was easy to relate to Indigo’s sense of uncertainty and her desire not to miss any of the opportunities that presented themselves to her during this time.


Indigo’s dreams of becoming a professional photographer, and she could never have anticipated the circumstances that would arise to cause her to question her obvious God-given talent. She also couldn’t have anticipated the power of her Aunt Melba’s testimony as she recovers from a life-threatening situation. There are several characters in this novel that must come face-to-face with the fact that God is in control of their every circumstance and when they yield to His direction, only then will they be able to fulfill His purpose in their lives.


Worth a Thousand Words is not a lengthy read, but it will certainly make you consider the way God works in our lives through every circumstance. This is a piece of wisdom shared by one of Indigo’s friends toward the end of the story that really says it all: “Dreams don’t necessarily die, do they? They just come in packages that God knows are a better fit for us than we could have designed.” (p, 251) I have a feeling we’ll be seeing more of the Burns family in future works by this talented author. I hope you will visit the Revell’s website and learn more about this book, the author, and the Jubilant Soul series.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Stacy Hawkins Adams is a writer for the Richmond Times-Dispatch and the author of several novels, including the Essence bestseller The Someday List and Worth a Thousand Words. All of Stacy's novels have been bestsellers in Black Expressions Book Club.