Marta's Meanderings

For years, Amber traipsed around the northwest avoiding the skeletons in her closet. Job-hopping every few weeks, she refused to let anyone get close to her.

As winter plants itself firmly across the Rockies, she takes a chance on a job at a logging company with a family different from any she’s ever known.

Watching the family interact creates more questions than answers for Amber. Feeling like she’s entered the happily-ever-after written at the end of fairytales, she watches for cracks in the façade.

Surely as the days pass, the play-acting will cease and the real family will emerge.
Or could she be wrong? Could they truly be genuine?

Could Faye understand the trauma from her past or Peter think of her as more than just the winter office help? Could this family really hold the key to what she’s seeking?

About Carrie

Over the years, God rewrote Carrie’s dreams to include being a stay-at-home mom and a writer. Originally writing weekly devotions as a way to share what she learned with women from various military bases, Carrie decided to enroll in the Christian Writer’s Guild. While there, seeds were planted and cultivated.

After almost ten years in the military, Carrie’s husband medically retired and they now live in central North Carolina with their three children. Besides writing fiction novels, she stays busy with homeschooling, working part time, and volunteering within two military ministries.

More than anything, Carrie strives to write clean fiction, happily-ever-after stories that gently advocate Biblical values and truths. She says, “I didn’t want to be embarrassed for my young daughter to pick up any of my books. I also didn’t want to be mortified if her life began to echo the activities of the lead character within my story. I believe the end result is books that not only provide some spiritual insight, but ones that reinforce accountability among unmarried men and women, healing from past hurts and families uniting in difficult circumstances.”

Carrie Daws Main site

My Review

I really enjoyed this book! I wasn't sure what to expect when I was sent this wonderful little book.  Many times I've found Christian romances can be very simplistic and don't really hold my attention.  This book was just the opposite.  The characters were well developed and the story kept you turning the page to see what was going to happen next.

The book is a quick read at 160 pages - I was able to read it in an evening.  It's unashamedly Christian and is 'preachy' for those people who do not like that type of book.  While it's a Christian romance, it does focus on family healing as part of that story. There were many layers to the story, which kept my interest throughout. 

The characters in the book come to life as we watch Amber struggle with learning to trust both the Yager family, and also to learn to trust God.  It's wonderful to see this family as they draw Amber in and surround her with family and friends. I was left wanting at the end of the book to see more of the romance between Amanda and Peter.  

The book contains no foul language and no overt sexual overtones, just a very sweet romance.  This book would be appropriate for teenagers as well as adults.

 I received a free copy of this book/Ebook/Product to review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations. I am part of The CWA Review Crew.

by: Kim West, PhD

New Heart Publishing (September 10, 2010)

ISBN-10: 0984052666

ISBN-13: 978-0984052660

When your loved one is dying at home you need emotional support and guidance, caregiving help and lessons, organization assistance, an expert adviser and a cherished friend. Peaceful Passage is all of this and more.

From first hearing the news to well beyond the funeral you will keep this resource close by you to give you answers at three in the morning, for encouragement every day and for detailed information on what to do, how to do it and when to do it. Here is guide for you to care well for yourself, your dying loved one, your family, marriage, career and in your spiritual life. 

This book is a labor of love from a professional counselor who cared for her own mother in her final days. One hospice described the book as, "An exceptional tool and resource for anyone assisting a loved one going through their final journey. A delightful, heartfelt, open discussion of processes, tips and things to ponder when traveling with them. Well done, and I applaud you. Thank you from all of us."

IN THE PAGES WITHIN, YOU'LL FIND PRACTICAL GUIDELINES FOR:

Unlike other books that focus on one part of the process, Peaceful Passage is your essential, all-in-one guide to handling every aspect of this often heart-wrenching and heartwarming journey. Use it to help ease the burden of your loved one's final passage, while making it a peaceful - and, yes, even joyous - one.

Link to the Table of Contents

About The Author

Kim West holds a PhD in Clinical Pastoral Counseling and a M.Div. in Counseling and Family, but when her own mother became ill with terminal cancer she found that she had no hands-on knowledge of how to take care of her.

As a counselor she knew to journal her own experience to help her process her grief at losing her mother and she knew how to help her mother finish her life well and be prepared for the life to come. But the day-to-day of taking care of her mother as she died would require learning a whole new set of caring skills. And learn she did.

After completing her own journey with her mother she knew she had to help others who would travel this same path. Peaceful Passage is a merging of her years of counseling experience and the new skills she learned caring for her mother combined with her heart to help and to heal.

Kim's website

Connect with Kim on Facebook

Purchase Peaceful Passage  here.

Review:

As a former CNA for Hospice, I was very interested in reading this book.  So many times books like this are full of basic information.  I was pleasantly surprised at the depth of information included in this handy little book - from realizing that there is no cure for the person in question, to their eventual passing.  This is a passage that affects not only the patient, but the caregiver and family as well.

Even as someone who has done this over and over with patients, I found it to be extremely educational.

This isn't a 'feel good' type of book, instead it is practical and realistic as to what you and your loved one will be facing.  And yet at the same time it's an easy read and easily understandable. The author includes her very personal journey caring for her mother at the end of her life. There are many decisions that you and your loved one will need to make regarding their end of life treatment and care.  Kim West discusses these decisions and gives you ideas as to the options that you'll have.  She even includes workbook pages at the end, as well as journaling pages to document the choices you make.

This book is for everyone - caregiver and patient alike.  It will help anyone have a better understanding of the end of life process , both the physical and emotional aspects of it.  Peaceful Passage helps the entire family navigate the ups and downs of this emotional time, including after the loved one's passing.

I heartily recommend that everyone have a copy of this book on their shelves.  It's an invaluable resource to navigating this time in life.