reviewsbyerin

One overbooked flight. A man in a rush to get home to celebrate his wife's birthday. A woman who wouldn't mind staying out of town one more night in order to spend more time with the man with whom she's having an affair. When the plane crashes with no survivors, world-famous photographer Julian Goetz is dead, and Katherine Walker's selfish choice has given her a new lease on life while shaking her to the core.

Julian's young widow, Ada, is devastated to have lost her husband after only five months of marriage. Ada was raised in a Christian cult where her father was the prophet and leader. Having lived such an isolated life, she feels she's only begun to live since her marriage to Julian. Every choice before that time had been made for her, and her only freedom found in running away. At just five months out in the world, Ada hasn't had time to develop friendships or a support network of her own, and while Julian's friends want to be there for her, Ada struggles to come to grips with what to do with her life now.

Katherine's affair may have saved her life, but she realizes now that what she wants is to save her marriage and heal her family. She fears that her husband won't be able to forgive her, but when he confesses to multiple affairs of his own, she realizes it will be a hard path for both of them. Meanwhile their two teenage sons struggle with the whole situation, especially Evan, who looked up to Julian Goetz as a hero and doesn't know how to come to grips with the fact that in some ways it's his mother's fault that Julian is dead, since she gave him her seat on the plane.

I found the journeys in this book very compelling. In a lot of ways I could identify with Ada, being very familiar with a hyperconservative upbringing. Her struggle was so real and vulnerable. Evan's world was turned upside down for different reasons, and he wants to find truth and reason in the midst of the pain. Katherine is grasping for purpose and forgiveness. Leaving the legacy of a wonderful man who loved a faithful God, Julian can help point the way, even from the grave, towards finding meaning and wholeness in this overwhelming world. Written in a hauntingly introspective style, this is one I'd be quick to recommend for all those who enjoy a deeper side to fiction.

I received my copy of this book in exchange for this honest review. All opinions are my own.