Book Review: First Love, Second Draft

What if a wife's worst day of her life was her husband's best day? What conflict and emotion might this conjure? I could well relate to this scenario. Not that my worst day was John's best day, but I worry there are much worse days ahead. We endured a miscarriage prior to the births of our three sons and, believe me, we processed and grieved differently. It is so hard when reactions don't match. The pain is intense and then you add a layer of misunderstanding. Men definitely grieve differently than women, and often communication in those tender initial days is non-existent.

Becca Kinzer has a real talent for taking the difficulties of relationships and spinning them out with wit. She knows how to write humor (a tough task). When you feel like crying over life's challenges, it is refreshing to pick up a book that leads from internal intensity into light-hearted laughter. Here is a brief summary of First Love, Second Draft, from the back cover of the book:

"Rom-com writer Gracie Parker hasn’t written a bestseller since she and her husband, a major league baseball star, divorced five years ago. On thin ice with her publisher―and with a looming deadline―Gracie couldn’t have picked a worse time for a painful injury that has her flat on her back. At this point, she’d accept help from anybody . . . except her first love and ex-husband, Noah Parker.

"The baseball season has just ended in massive disappointment for Noah. He’s facing the stark reality that he gave up everything for a career that’s let him down and that it might be too late to get back the one person he should’ve held on to. So when Gracie’s nephew calls, saying Gracie’s looking for a tenant for her next-door rental, it feels like it’s meant to be."

I've enjoyed all of Becca Kinzer's humorous tales. This one is a novel about second chances. Love is hard, but deserves a second chance. Sometimes women who have been hurt refuse to give an ex a second chance. We are all flawed and failing. We all desire forgiveness. I need to learn to extend grace to others more freely and open doors for restoration and reconciliation. I just hope it doesn't take a painful injury to get me to that point, ha! (My June fall from the treadmill wasn't as debilitating as Gracie's injury, but I'm still needing to sleep flat on my back because my normal side-sleeping causes twingy pain where I hit the chair. Say a prayer for healing, if you will.)

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Becca has announced a new book slated for the spring of 2026. It sounds like it will be another joyful journey with witty banter and unexpected romance. Here is the cover reveal for next year's novel, Not What We Pictured. (This title sounds like a commentary on my life, ha!)

   

Book Review: Mother-Daughter Murder Night

My book club selected this Reese's Book Club pick for one of their two May selections. Since the other book didn't appeal to me at all, I read Nina Simon's debut mystery, Mother-Daughter Murder Night. I loved reading the origins of this story. Nina's mother received a cancer diagnosis. As the two spent a lot of time together, they set out to write a mother-daughter murder mystery. It's quite an achievement to make Reese Witherspoon's list with a debut novel.

Lana Rubicon is used to wheeling and dealing in the real estate market of Los Angeles. Now she is side-lined, recuperating from lung cancer in the small coastal town of her daughter and granddaughter. The three of them have never been in such confined quarters and sparks fly. But, when Jack, the granddaughter, becomes a suspect in a local murder, Lana pushes herself to tackle the case with the help of Jack and her estranged daughter, Beth.

I enjoyed the dynamics of the mother-daughter-granddaughter relationships. The writing flowed well. It was also a clean read (always a plus in my book). Although I was in a hard patch (concentration-wise), the book held my interest. Here's a photo of the writing duo (with granddaughter, no doubt) from the book's website:

Mid-month Mention: IN Prayer Walk Your Campus Day

For the past several years, I've been focused on increasing prayer in my life. Just prior to the pandemic, I had hopes of starting a new prodigal prayer group with Moms in Prayer International. Then, chaos ensued, my life became heavy, and that goal felt out of reach. I may not be able to kick-start a group of fellow parents praying for prodigal children. Yet, I continue to note the newsletters and information from MiPI.

This month, I want to draw attention to an opportunity early next month for my Indiana blog readers to participate in a prayer initiative. I received this letter from Lori Bell, the Indiana MiPI State Coordinator:

Hello, Indiana Prayer Warriors! I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 1 Timothy 2:1-2 NIV

Kick off the 2025-2026 school year with a prayer walk for your child's school campus! Unanimously approved as a Resolution by the Indiana House of Representatives, Indiana Prayer Walk Your Campus Day is August 10, 2025. Gather friends and family to pray for your child, teachers and staff as you walk the school campus. Don’t have a child in school? We implore and welcome anyone who cares deeply for this generation of students - parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, teachers, pastors - join us in united prayer across Indiana. With your help, every campus will have a prayer walk! This event is sponsored by several Christian organizations, including Child Evangelism Fellowship, Christian Educators, Cru, Moms in Prayer International and Students Standing Strong.

My children are no longer in public schools (my youngest starts at Purdue University next month), but I believe in the power of prayer. Young people today face such intense spiritual opposition. I plan to participate on August 10, 2025. Years ago, I read Mark Batterson's outstanding book, The Circle Maker. I highly recommended this book in my book review. If you can, read Batterson's book and join others across Indiana in praying for the children of our state. If your heart aches for the children around you, sign up for Moms in Prayer International. Click here, if you wish to register and receive resources to guide your prayers in this particular Indiana endeavor. URGENT: That link encourages participants to register by JULY 15th to ensure timely delivery of the free resources! I only learned of this on July 10th, so sorry for not posting this sooner.

If you are not an Indiana resident, don't hesitate to initiate your own prayer walk. Or you can look at this MiPI events page to see if a prayer event is coming near you.

"If my people, which are called by my name, 

shall humble themselves, and pray, 

and seek my face, 

and turn from their wicked ways; 

then will I hear from heaven, 

and will forgive their sin, 

and will heal their land." 

- 2 Chronicles 7:14 KJV

Book Review: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

My job at the Marion E. Wade Center, during my college years, required hosting tours for small groups of school children. I loved showing them the actual inspiration for the wardrobe. It bore a sign declaring the Wade Center free of any legal obligation associated with children who disappear into the wardrobe. I needed an audio book for my endless May car rides (lots of ferrying people here and there while we were down to one car). What a joy to return to the Narnia series with the ever-popular The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie live with a professor in the country during the Blitz. While enjoying a game of hide-and-seek, they enter a wardrobe and a land of imagination full of satyrs, dwarves, centaurs, and giants. In Narnia, the White Witch, who has overtaken the land and brought endless winter, wants to capture them. But, Aslan is on the move. He, alone, can save the children and restore them to their rightful places as kings and queens in Narnia.

Though Lewis had no children, he did a fine job of tapping into child-appealing storytelling mode. I have fond memories of reading this to my two younger sons when they were small. We didn't complete the whole series (their attention spans were typical of this generation), but I enjoyed sharing this snippet with them. I will have to see if my library has more of the series in audio form.

Book Review: E. M. Bounds: Man of Prayer

Meeting Patti Callahan Henry at her author talk in Franklin, IN, propelled me into several reading kicks. First, I read 2 of Patti's books. Becoming Mrs. Lewis sparked a desire to pick up my dear friend (and former boss) Lyle W. Dorsett's book, And God Came In (re-titled A Love Observed). At the same time, in my morning devotional focus on prayer books, I worked through his exceptional brief biography and compilation book on Edward McKendree Bounds. This Dorsett book-reading kick sparked a C. S. Lewis kick. The Amazon image of Lyle's book was sideways, so I took a photo of my copy, and you can see how many tabs I marked to come back to later.

Of course, the focus of E. M. Bounds: Man of Prayer centers on prayer. I loved one particular illustration from the life of D. L. Moody. Moody had been called upon to preach at a church in London, but found the morning service dry, sterile, and unproductive. That evening, he arrived to find a different outcome. Later, he discovered a decisive factor. An invalid woman, on hearing Moody had been there to preach at her church that morning, shut herself into her room and petitioned the Lord to work through D. L. Moody. Yes, our prayers matter!

Bounds emphasizes the urgency of prayer. He writes, "The lesson of it all is this, that as workers together with God we must regard ourselves as in not a little measure responsible for the conditions which prevail around us today. Are we concerned about the coldness of the church?... Does our soul go out to God in midnight cries for the outpouring of His spirit?... If we do our part, God will do His. Around us is a world lost in sin, above us is a God willing and able to save; it is ours to build the bridge that links heaven and earth, and prayer is the mighty instrument that does the work."

Lyle Dorsett organizes snippets from Bounds' writings into topic categories. In the section on money, Bounds castigates the idolatry of preachers who seek prominence among people and profit in their pocket. Bounds writes, "Ambition... for honor is, in a preacher, nothing short of sin. Covetousness... is the refinement of idolatry.... Preachers must quit lauding the money-making talent; must quit following the money-making business."

Bounds' prayerfulness impressed me, but also his humility. He quoted Alexander Mclaren, "If a man considers himself to be an iron pillar, he is of no use to God. God works through broken reeds." In another place, he emphasizes, "Nothing keeps us from revolutionizing things for God but our self-bigness and our faith-littleness." Here is a man who has every reason to consider himself an example to others, a guide for the masses, yet he remains grounded and recognizes his own deep need for God's grace. If only my life looked like E. M. Bounds' life! I want to fall on my face in humility, recognizing my deep need for God and His grace. I want to pray as if it depends on me and trust as if it depends on God.

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Please say a prayer for Lyle Dorsett! His beloved wife, Mary, died in the early morning hours on 7/7/25 after enduring cancer for years.

Book Review: One Italian Summer

Every time I read a book set in Italy, I think of my Italian blogging friend Maria Novajosky, author of An Ocean, an Airplane, and Two Countries Full of Kisses. Rebecca Serle's One Italian Summer is a highly entertaining Instant New York Times Bestseller. I loved dropping into Positano, Italy, and reading descriptions of the Amalfi Coast. What's more, I adored the characters in this book. The intensity of this mother-daughter bond was reminiscent of the beloved pair in The Gilmore Girls. Although I was close to my mother, and felt the mother-loss keenly as I read, ours was never as tight as these fictional relationships.

Katy Silver is utterly bereft upon losing her best friend and mother, Carol. Their bond was intense and her grief knows no bounds. Thus, Katy embarks alone on the trip to Italy that the two had planned to take together. Just as in Rebecca Serle's previous bestseller, In Five Years, magic is afoot. Katy bumps into 30-year-old Carol in the town of Positano. Katy is eager to spend as much time as possible with this younger version of her mother. She is learning unknown things from the past, but it brings conflict in her present.

I really enjoyed this book. It held me spellbound for over an hour. I couldn't tear my eyes away. That's saying something, given my current challenges in reading (lots going on and difficult to focus). Thankfully, I read this in hardcover, so I skipped through the brief sex scenes (2 - unnecessary and 1 adulterous). Overlooking that cautionary content, the book is a great exploration into the power of a strong mother-daughter bond. There's a tension in finding your place in the world when motherhood defines you. It may have been more difficult to read about such a loss if my mother had not already passed from Alzheimer's. So, know that up front, if this might be a trigger-warning for you. 

📒 Content Caution: brief sex scenes toward the end of the book

2025 - Second Quarterly Review

To assist my blog readers, I summarize my reading four times a year, providing a brief description, genre, the page count, and a grading scale (💖5 page-turner - highly recommend, 4 page-turner - enjoyed, 3 page-turner - good, 2 page-turner - meh, and 1 page-turner - regret, wishing I could get back the time invested). I read the following books during the second quarter of 2025 (links to full reviews can be found in the side-bar, or after 2025, found through the search bar at the right):

💖Saving the Saved: How Jesus Saves Us from Try-Harder Christianity into Performance-Free Love by Bryan Loritts - Loritts argues against spiritual meritocracy (using our performance to gain God's approval) and teaches readers how to rest in God's performance-free love. Christian Living. 208 pages (I listened on Hoopla, 5-1/2 hours), 📃📃📃📃📃

The Olive Farm: A Memoir of Life, Love, and Olive Oil in the South of France by Carol Drinkwater - An actress finds love and a new life in France on a ten-acre olive farm. Memoir. 336 pages (I listened in audio form, 10 CDs, 11-3/4 hours), 📃📃📃

Becoming Elisabeth Elliot by Ellen Vaughn - First in a 2-part biography, this volume focuses on the early years of Elliot's life. It explores her upbringing, her courtship, her brief marriage, and her missionary work. It was so good, I sought a physical copy of the book to take notes. Christian Biography. 320 pages (I listened on Hoopla, 12-3/4 hours), 📃📃📃📃-1/2

💖The Story She Left Behind by Patti Callahan Henry - Clara Harrington attempts to piece together fragments to solve the mystery behind her mother's disappearance twenty-five years before, when Clara was eight. Based on a real author who disappeared without a trace, this tale stirs longing for family and communication. Historical Fiction. 331 pages, 📃📃📃📃📃

Decluttering at the Speed of Life: Winning Your Never-Ending Battle With Stuff by Dana K. White - Overcome the paralysis and begin to purge your life from all that is taking up physical and emotional space in your home. Self-Help. 218 pages, 📃📃📃

The Sacredness of Secular Work: 4 Ways Your Job Matters for Eternity (Even When You're Not Sharing the Gospel) by Jordan Raynor - I'm becoming less and less of Raynor's target audience, yet I still enjoy hearing what he has to say. Could do without so many pop culture illustrations, but this is amply supported with scripture. Christian Living. 224 pages (I listened on Libby, 5-1/2 hours), 📃📃📃-1/2

The Five Wishes of Mr. Murray McBride by Joe Siple - When 100-year-old Murray McBride realizes his motivation for living has dried up, he embarks on a quest to help a young heart patient fulfill his dying wishes. A heart-warming, life-affirming tale well worth the read. Literary Fiction. 235 pages, 📃📃📃📃

The Paper Bracelet by Rachael English - Katie has always tried to put behind her the time she spent working as a nurse in a home for unwed mothers in the early 1970s. After her husband's death, she pulls out her long-kept box full of paper infant identity bracelets hoping to reunite as many of the mothers and children as she can. Historical Fiction. 384 pages, 📃📃📃📃

Minister Rogers' Neighborhood: How Fred Rogers Glorified God in His Work--and How You Can Do the Same by Jordan Raynor and Kaleigh Cox - Very brief biography of Fred Rogers. This takes a larger-than-life personality and whittles it down to a soundbite for the message that "all work is God's work." Christian Biography. 68 Kindle pages, 📃📃📃-1/2

How to Pray by R. A. Torrey - Classic discussion on the importance, the nature, and the practice of prayer. Christian Living. 107 pages, 📃📃📃-1/2

The Ministry of Intercessory Prayer by Andrew Murray - Another classic on prayer. Final section of a month-long school of prayer. Christian Living. 155 pages, 📃📃📃-1/2

Being Elisabeth Elliot by Ellen Vaughn - In this second part of the biography, Vaughn traces more of Elisabeth's shortcomings in her drive for relationships. Elisabeth endured suffering in her final two marriages. Her voice on suffering is a balm to any who face hardship and trial in life. Christian Biography. 320 pages (I listened on Hoopla, 12-3/4 hours), 📃📃📃📃-1/2

Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan - Historical fiction accounting of the life of Joy Davidman. After reading this, I want to return to my copy of Dr. Lyle Dorsett's book on Joy Davidman, And God Came In. Historical Fiction. 405 pages, 📃📃📃📃-1/2

And God Came In: The Extraordinary Story of Joy Davidman by Lyle W. Dorsett - Follow-up to reading the previous book, I decided to dig out this older biography written by my former boss and beloved professor. Christian Biography. 149 pages, 📃📃📃📃

💖Good Catastrophe: The Tide-Turning Power of Hope by Benjamin Windle - What a powerful book outlining how good comes from bad in our lives and how to cling to our best source of hope, Jesus! Christian Living. 208 pages (I listened on Hoopla, 5-1/2 hours), 📃📃📃📃📃

The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave - Hannah's husband disappears and leaves behind a cryptic note, "Protect her." As she attempts to protect his daughter, Bailey, she confronts what she didn't know about her husband and their past. Mystery Thriller. 336 pages (I listened in audio form, 8 CDs, 9 hours), 📃📃📃📃-1/2 

The Garden of Memories by Amanda James - Several women, each facing particular losses, establish a garden of memories and develop friendships. Sweet but slow. Women's Fiction. 378 pages (I listened on Hoopla, 11 hours), 📃📃📃