Forever Faithful: The Complete Trilogy

Forever Faithful: The Complete Trilogy

by Karen Kingsbury

This book is a compilation of Karen Kingsbury's Forever Faithful series books - Waiting for Morning (which I reviewed last year), A Moment of Weakness, and Halfway to Forever. The first book Waiting for Morning, tells the story of Hannah Ryan, who loses her husband and daughter in a car accident. A Moment of Weakness is the story of Jade Conner and Tanner Eastman, and Halfway to Forever wraps up the series with Hannah, her new husband Matt Bronzan, and Jade and Tanner's story.

I really enjoyed this series. I had read A Moment of Weakness a time or two before, but had never read Halfway to Forever, mainly because it sounded kind of depressing. I have to admit the book was pretty depressing until the last few chapters. But I still enjoyed wrapping up the series and finding out what happens to Hannah, Matt, Jade, and Tanner. The only other criticism I have is the weight of the book itself. While it might seem like a good idea to package 3 of Karen Kingsbury's books into one, it wasn't very practical for carrying, and holding it for long periods of time was not comfortable (ideally I like to have a book that is easy to hold and "curl up with").

I would give this series a 4. But if I had to individually rate the books, I would give Waiting for Morning a 5, A Moment of Weakness a 5, and Halfway to Forever a 4.

About the author:

After graduating from college in 1986 with a degree in journalism, Karen became a full-time reporter for the Los Angeles Times. Her first book, Missy’s Murder, was based on a murder story she covered in Los Angeles as a reporter. She sold a version of the story to People magazine in 1989. A New York agent read her People story and asked her for a book proposal. The book hit stores in 1992. She then wrote three more true crime novels. Next she wrote four collections of answered prayers and miracle stories before transitioning to inspirational fiction in 1998.

Her first novel, Where Yesterday Lives, was a real challenge for Karen to get published. Although publishing companies said they liked the story, they were not sure what to do with it since it didn’t contain foul language and had no sex scenes. Finally, the Christian publishing house Multnomah, published her novel and gave her a multi-book contract. Her books made a real connection with contemporary romance fans. Since her first novel, Karen has written more than 40 faith based novels, many of which have hit #1 on national lists. There are more than 15 million copies of her award-winning books in print.

Dubbed by Time magazine as the “queen” of Christian fiction, Karen receives tens of thousands of letters from readers who say that Karen’s fiction has dramatically changed their lives. These letters and e-testimonials of improved marriages, spiritual awakenings and new found hope have enabled her to formally trademark her work Life-Changing Fiction™.

Karen lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, Don. They were married in June, 1988 and have six children, three of whom were adopted from Haiti. You can read her Adoption story. 

They celebrate their faith daily by laughing, loving and living life to the fullest. You can contact Karen atmoc.yrubsgniKneraK@neraK.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Waterbrook Multnomah. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising." 

A Short Life Well Lived

A Short Life Well Lived

by Tom Sullivan

Brian O'Connor is an attorney who is married with two kids. He is also blind. When his 11-year-old son, Tommy, is found to have cancer after breaking his arm during a baseball game, Brian is devastated. Having no faith in God, he feels angry and lost. Rev. Clayton McRae, the hospital chaplain, befriends him and encourages him to train with him for the Boston Marathon, and raise money for kids with cancer. During his running sessions with Clayton, Brian vents his frustrations about his son being sick, and questions a God who would allow this to happen.

A Short Life Well Lived takes the reader on Brian's faith journey, which I found to be very honest and realistic. I have to admit this was a hard book to read. Any story about a sick child makes me sad. But overall I did enjoy the book. Working in healthcare myself, I was able to better empathize with parents of sick children by the end of the book. I think another thing that made the book intriguing was the fact that the author, Tom Sullivan, is also blind. This gave an authenticity to his character's experience with blindness. I would recommend this book to anyone who questions their faith in God, or just simply wants a closer walk with God.


About the author: Tom Sullivan

Tom Sullivan, known to many as an actor, singer, entertainer, author and producer, lives and works by “Sullivan’s Rules.”  As a young boy he found himself fenced in his back yard, but he refused to be fenced in by his blindness.  “Sullivan’s Rules” were invented by Tom and his father, Porky Sullivan, so that he could play baseball with the neighborhood boys without the benefit of seeing the ball.  It became the most popular game on the block.  “Sullivan’s Rules” became the rules to play by in the sighted world, and that meant playing almost anything.

One of Sullivan’s first rules is that any negative can be turned into positive.  Born prematurely in 1947, Tom was given too much oxygen while in an incubator.  Though it saved his life, it cost him his eyesight.  The “inconvenience” of being blind has never kept Tom Sullivan from competing in a world where he realized that to be equal, for him, meant that he must be better.  Even as he may have had to change the rules slightly, he has proven that one need not be limited by a handicap, whether it is playing backyard baseball as a youngster or any activity he’s pursued.  Tom is an excellent golfer.  (“I’ve never seen a water hazard.  I always have an open shot to the green.”)  He’s an avid snow skier and a marathon runner and has been inducted into the Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

As a special correspondent for ABC’s Good Morning America, Tom became a regular morning fixture in millions of American homes.  His touching and insightful reports gave many that “you can do it” bit of inspiration to start their day.

Tom went on to be nominated for two Emmy Awards and has acted on TV series, such as Designing Women, Highway to Heaven, Fame, M*A*S*H, Mork & Mindy and WKRP in Cincinnati, just to name a few.  But to create the characters and fulfill the role of a blind man on prime time he also helped write and develop many of these stories.

Thanks to Tom’s public life, he has been privileged to become one of America’s most sought-after motivational speakers, communicating with over 3,000 corporations around the world.  His message of hope is best expressed in his quote from his ESPN special, Superior Beings:  “If extraordinary people can do impossible things, isn’t it reasonable to assume that ordinary people can do extraordinary things.”

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Glass Road Public Relations. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."