This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
A Promise in Pieces
Abingdon Press (April 15, 2014)
by
Emily T. Wierenga
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
A Word from the Author:
I’m Emily, and I’m honored and humbled to meet you, friend.
We’re all stumbling along on this journey and you can approach me about anything okay? I’m an open book, with dog-eared pages and a worn cover.
I’m mama to two boys, ages two and four, and married to a farm-boy-turned-math-teacher. We live in a small Dutch hamlet with three churches, one Co-Op and no stop lights. There are a lot of fields out here, there’s a lot of space and sky for breathing and running and writing.
We foster two boys in addition to our own two, and before I had kids, I took care of my Mum who had brain cancer. She fought back and has recovered, all glory to God, and my pastor-father still holds her hand while they go for daily walks.
I battled anorexia nervosa as a child, and then again as a newly married woman, and I write a lot about body image now and have a passion for women to learn to love themselves.
My husband and I have battled infertility and are currently trying to adopt our third child through the local Alberta government.
I hurt for the church, and believe in it, and pray for it, as I’ve grown up inside its walls and have heard its groanings.
I have a heart for Africa, particularly Uganda, and went there in January on a bloggers’ trip with World Help.
My favorite things to do are read literary novels, play guitar, snowboard, paint with oil and acrylics and hug my babies.
I am the author of two books on eating disorders, a novel releasing this spring, and a memoir coming out this summer.
I hope you’ll connect with me on FB: https://www.facebook.com/emilytwierenga, or if you prefer, Twitter: @emily_wierenga. I’d love to have a virtual glass of wine, or cup of coffee, with you.
Peace to you friends,
e.
ABOUT THE BOOK
After the end of World War II, Clara Kirkpatrick returns from the Women’s Army Corp to deliver a dying soldier’s last wishes: convey his love to his young widow, Mattie, with apologies for the missed life they had planned to share.
Struggling with her own post-war trauma, Clara thinks she’s not prepared to handle the grief of this broken family. Yet upon meeting Mattie, and receiving a baby quilt that will never cuddle the soldier’s baby, Clara vows to honor the sacrifices that family made.
Now a labor and delivery nurse in her rural hometown, Clara wraps each new babe in the gifted quilt and later stitches the child’s name into the cloth. As each new child is welcomed by the quilt, Clara begins to wonder whatever
happened to Mattie—and if her own life would ever experience the love of a newborn. Little does she know that she will have the opportunity to re-gift the special quilt—years later and carrying even greater significance than when it was first bestowed.
If you would like to read the first chapter of
A Promise in Pieces, go
HERE.
My Thoughts: I loved this story! I'm very interested in midwifery, and so I enjoyed reading about Clara's experiences. The entire story, from beginning to end, follows Clara's personal struggles, while the world around her is struggling through the war and its aftermath. The quilt that Mattie gives her, and it's story as time goes on, is very sweet and emotional. I read A Promise in Pieces very quickly, as I had a hard time putting it down!
