Pieces of the Heart by Bonnie Calhoun - REVIEWED

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Pieces of the Heart Abingdon Press (June 1, 2013) by Bonnie S. Calhoun

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Bonnie S. Calhoun is Owner/Director of Christian Fiction Blog Alliance, owner/publisher of Christian Fiction Online Magazine, Northeast Zone Director for American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), the ACFW ‘2011 Mentor of the Year,” President of (CAN) Christian Authors Network, and Appointment Coordinator for both the Colorado Christian Writers Conference (CCWC) and the Greater Philadelphia Christian Writers Conference(GPCWC).

For the last six years she has taught workshops in Facebook, Twitter, Blogging, and creating Social Media promotions at both CCWC, and GPCWC, and in 2011 at the Montrose, Pa Christian Writers Conference. She also taught a Facebook workshop at the 2012 ACFW conference.

Bonnie and her husband live in a log cabin in upstate area of New York with a dog and cat who think she’s wait-staff.

Her sites are: https://www.facebook.com/bonniescalhounsnarkandsuspense
 https://www.facebook.com/bscalhoun

My Thoughts:

“Not every prayer is going to get the answer you want, in the way you want.  Remember , the Lord has a much bigger plan than our little mind could ever understand.”  (p. 154)

Pieces of the Heart tells a life story of a young couple, Cordelia Grace and Bernard Howard, that is as colorful and intricately designed as a Pine Cone Quilt.  This story spans every life event from dealing with childhood bullies to the nightmares left behind in the wake of a World War.  Sounds like a pretty daunting task to get through that length of time in the span of a 250 pages, doesn’t it?  Bonnie Calhoun does it seamlessly and with tender, spiritual insight that will feel as comforting as the life quilt Cordelia constructs during the story.

At first, I thought that I would be reading a coming of age story.  When I realized that the time line would be far more in depth, I began to think that I would feel rushed and disappointed by a quickly constructed ending.  What I discovered instead was a tender story of families – very broken and lost at times – that were shown God’s grace time and time again.  Cordelia’s grandmother passed on a legacy of prayer through her granddaughter that proved both life-saving and transforming.  The transformation began in Cordelia’s heart and wound up touching many other lives.  Thier trials were real and painful, and the challenges they faced racially only heightened the tension within the story.  However, by the time you reach the final pages, your heart has been turned toward the Savior in a fresh new way, and you are left to ponder your own life “quilt” and the relationships it represents.

Prayer serves as the constant thread tying the story together.  The message is  both powerful and tender  and made me appreciate the prayers of my own beloved family members all over again!  Cordelia and Bernard will be a blessing to many lives!  Thank you, Bonnie, for sharing them with me!!

 ABOUT THE BOOK

Cordelia Grace watched Bernard Howard, the love of her young life, go off to fight for our country in WWII. And she has spent the last three years creating the Pine Cone quilt that will grace their marriage bed when he comes home. Each row of triangles signifies a layer in her life, sets of memories, hopes, dreams, and prayers for her future, enough spoken words to cover them forever. Her image of their “happy-ever-after” grows proportionally as the quilt expands.

But is the man that returns from the war, the same man that she remembered? Are the dark shades of color that she had to use for the outside edges of the beloved quilt prophetic of her life to come? Can love and faith overcome all?

If you would like to read teh first chapter of Pieces of the Heart, go HERE.