Widow of Gettysburg by Jocelyn Green - REVIEWED

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Widow of Gettysburg River North; New Edition edition (April 12, 2013) by Jocelyn Green

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jocelyn Green is a child of God, wife and mom living in Cedar Falls, Iowa. She is also an award-winning journalist, author, editor and blogger. Though she has written nonfiction on a variety of topics, her name is most widely recognized for her ministry to military wives: Faith Deployed. Her passion for the military family was fueled by her own experience as a military wife, and by the dozens of interviews she has conducted with members of the military for her articles and books, Faith Deployed: Daily Encouragement for Military Wives and its sequel, Faith Deployed...Again: More Daily Encouragement for Military Wives. She is also co-author of both Stories of Faith and Courage from the War in Iraq & Afghanistan and Stories of Faith and Courage from the Home Front (forthcoming, May 2012). Her Faith Deployed Web site and Facebook page continue to provide ongoing support, encouragement and resources for military wives worldwide.





ABOUT THE BOOK

When a horrific battle rips through Gettysburg, the farm of Union widow Liberty Holloway is disfigured into a Confederate field hospital, bringing her face to face with unspeakable suffering--and a Rebel scout who awakens her long dormant heart.

While Liberty's future crumbles as her home is destroyed, the past comes rushing back to Bella, a former slave and Liberty's hired help, when she finds herself surrounded by Southern soldiers, one of whom knows the secret that would place Liberty in danger if revealed.

In the wake of shattered homes and bodies, Liberty and Bella struggle to pick up the pieces the battle has left behind. Will Liberty be defined by the tragedy in her life, or will she find a way to triumph over it? Widow of Gettysburg is inspired by first-person accounts from women who lived in Gettysburg during the battle and its aftermath.

My Thoughts:

“Whether you like it or not, young lady, you are at a crossroads.  You must decide, today – this moment – who you are.  And then act like it.”

These words were thrown in Liberty’s face by the very person who longs to narrowly define her world by her husband’s untimely death.  Ironically, the question of her life’s purpose and definition is already being pondered in her heart at a very deep and personal level.  Married and widowed within the span of weeks was not an unusual situation for young women during the Civil War.  By the time the Battle of Gettysburg came to her front doorstep, Liberty has had wisdom poured into her life by several people.  Bella, a former slave shared words that impacted my own heart.  She said to Liberty, “You gotta grab on to hope, child, and make sure that hope is tied to God above.  His is our hiding place.”  This is a truth that is lived out in the harsh setting of caring for the enemy soldiers in the rooms of her own home!

Jocelyn Green carries readers into the very heart of the Civil War.  The gruesome sights and sounds that came to bear in the homes and lives of civilians caught in the midst of a major battle don’t begin to paint the emotional and spiritual impact that came to bear upon the lives affected by this War. Green doesn’t miss one single nuance of the lives of the civilians who served tirelessly just to from one day to the next!  To this reality, Green adds some intrigue and a bit of very unlikely romance and creates a page-turning story that literally carries the reader back in time and allows us to consider the true price of freedom.

You will be amazed and totally surprised by the plot twists that drive this story! You will be left breathless with anticipation and shock!  This is truly an amazing story, and I am so pleased to be able to recommend it to you!!

If you would like to read the first chapter of Widow of Gettysburg, go HERE.