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Come Sunday

by Isla Morley

     

This is the first book written by Isla Morley and coming out of the gate, in my opinion, she hit a home run.

Come Sunday, where to start? This is not a happy book by any stretch of the imagination.  It’s downright sad from beginning to almost the end.  However, with that said, I would recommend reading this one.  Just know you will cry in a lot of spots and there will not be very much joy.

Abbe Deighton is the wife of a minister and they live in beautiful Hawaii with their three-year-old daughter, Cleo.  They have a very hard life.  Ministers do not make a lot of money, and if you don't live in the housing provided by the church, you are downright poverty stricken.  For whatever reason, they decide to live in a home left to them by a passing parent.  Problem is, it’s old, run down and requires a lot of money for upkeep that they just don't have.

Abbe and Greg do not have any time alone.  Between the church and all of the parishioners and their threeyear-old daughter, just getting a second to say hi to each other seems to be a hard thing to do, and because they don't talk, things between them are ok at best.  One night Abbe arranges to take Greg out to the movies for the first time in ages.  She arranges for her friend to take care of Cleo, and she and Greg head to the theater.  Upon their return, they are met with police cars and ambulance and chaos.  Cleo had been hit by a car and was taken to the local hospital.  The outcome is tragic!

How do you put your life back together after losing a child?  Everything reminds you of her, everything you touch and feel, brings back fond and terrific memories of her life.  Living day to day without her takes a toll on you and the other parent.  So much so, that in the end, you seem to be living alone.

Abbe goes from day to day without a care, a worry, or a  life.  She is existing, but she is not living.  This tears Greg apart.  After about a year living this way, he has had enough.  He tells Abbe that he is taking a job back on the mainland and would like her to go with him.  She refuses to leave the house that Cleo grew up in.  So he leaves his wife, the tragic memories inside the house, and takes the new position.

This book will take you back to Abbe's roots, a small town in Africa.  Life will continue to move forward, but Abbe must take a step back in order to heal.  Come Sunday is a wonderfully written book.  Tragic, heart warming, and encouraging, but it does not put a smile on your face nor bring a spring to your step.  It does, however, provide a closure for you and makes you appreciate just what you have.  I recommend this one as a Must Read!

The Book

Sarah Crichton Books / MacMillan
May 2009
Hardcover
978-0-374-12687-2
Fiction
More at Amazon.com
Excerpt (Google preview link)
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The Reviewer

Sandie Vega
Reviewed 2009
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© 2009 MyShelf.com