Jonathan Beecher, a middle-aged widower and small-town store owner, has never asked for much. But lately, all too much is being asked of him. The bombing of Pearl Harbor plunges America into World War II and deeply fractures Jonathan’s own family. His eldest son, a civilian contractor, is trapped on a Japanese-occupied island in the Pacific. Jonathan’s feckless younger son ignores his father’s pleas to stay home and joins the army. And his bright, devoted daughter, who Jonathan hoped would go to college, elopes with a brutally abusive man instead.
Jonathan has always met adversity with quiet faith, but as his emotional and financial losses accumulate, so do his doubts. In the midst of his pain, Sarah, a widow herself, emerges as a kind, compelling friend. Powerfully drawn to Sarah, Jonathan struggles to remain true to his late wife.
James D. Shipman’s tender, wise novel examines the paradox of human suffering: how irrevocable loss, if we are willing to let it, begets spiritual gain.
It is well – a very good book. I have been reading crime novels and legal novels for quite a while now but when I saw this book on Book Bub I knew it was one I wanted to read. This is a very well-written book about a very hard time in our nation’s history as told through the story of a Godly man who suffered much in his personal life. The author brought us back to the years of World War II and reminds us of a different way of living than how things are now. This is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. Couldn’t…
When the world caught fire and God seemed to have turned his back on his people Today when disasters strike, religious extremists are quick to attribute them to God’s wrath, directed at a secular generation who’ve turned away from the Bible. But in December 1941, in the little town of Snohomish, Washington, the majority of people were hard-working, pious, and patriotic. They prayed that the horrible war in Europe would spare them and their sons. Government officials were aware of the growing threat of the Japanese air force, but the attack on Pearl Harbor struck most…
How grief and war affect a family In a novel spanning the few years before and during WWII, Shipman traces one family as they grapple with the mother’s passing from cancer and the paths that each of the three children choose to live. Despite the grand nature of the historical events, this is a quiet tale about individuals trying to find meaning and companionship while living within one’s values.Â