For years, Rae Sutton's mother, Margie, Rae's Aunt Maxine, Mrs. Dora Kinney, and Ms. Fannie Richardson met on the third Thursday of each month. Rae's mother called it their "ministry." They alternated homes each meeting and drank coffee and ate dessert and discussed who to send flowers to in the...
For years, Rae Sutton's mother, Margie, Rae's Aunt Maxine, Mrs. Dora Kinney, and Ms. Fannie Richardson met on the third Thursday of each month. Rae's mother called it their "ministry." They alternated homes each meeting and drank coffee and ate dessert and discussed who to send flowers to in the hospital or who to take a meal. They read books and argued over their meanings. They prayed for their family and friends. They wrote out "Get Well Soon" cards or "Congratulations on Your Grandbaby" cards. For an hour each month, they laughed, gossiped, reminisced about days gone by, and solved all the problems in Whitten, Alabama.
When Rae's mother loses her battle with cancer, the eccentric older ladies invite Rae to attend the meetings. There she learns how to navigate life as a single mother without her own mother to guide her. These wry, witty women inspire her to follow her dreams and take leaps of faith. Along the way, Rae finds surprises: a potential new romance, her ex-husband hoping to make amends, and letters her mother left for her to read after her death that offer hope as she considers the unexpected love and hope in her future.
For years, Rae Sutton's mother, Margie, Rae's Aunt Maxine, Mrs. Dora Kinney, and Ms. Fannie Richardson met on the third Thursday of each month. Rae's mother called it their "ministry." They alternated homes each meeting and drank coffee and ate dessert and discussed who to send flowers to in the...
For years, Rae Sutton's mother, Margie, Rae's Aunt Maxine, Mrs. Dora Kinney, and Ms. Fannie Richardson met on the third Thursday of each month. Rae's mother called it their "ministry." They alternated homes each meeting and drank coffee and ate dessert and discussed who to send flowers to in the hospital or who to take a meal. They read books and argued over their meanings. They prayed for their family and friends. They wrote out "Get Well Soon" cards or "Congratulations on Your Grandbaby" cards. For an hour each month, they laughed, gossiped, reminisced about days gone by, and solved all the problems in Whitten, Alabama.
When Rae's mother loses her battle with cancer, the eccentric older ladies invite Rae to attend the meetings. There she learns how to navigate life as a single mother without her own mother to guide her. These wry, witty women inspire her to follow her dreams and take leaps of faith. Along the way, Rae finds surprises: a potential new romance, her ex-husband hoping to make amends, and letters her mother left for her to read after her death that offer hope as she considers the unexpected love and hope in her future.
This was my first time reading anything from Susannah B Lewis, and it certainly won't be my last. I loved that the older ladies in Rae's life were the greatest source of humour in the book, but at the same time, they were Rae's strongest support network, and the source of the greatest wisdom. The characters were real and flawed and trying to do better. The ending didn't involve complete resolution, but that was okay - anything else would have seemed contrived. Life doesn't often involve having all the loose ends tied off nicely at any given time. I thought it was a very thoughtful handling of grief, both over the loss of a loved one due too death, and the loss of relationship due to divorce. It also portrayed a realistic faith journey. Highly recommended.
A
Anonymous
I recommend this product
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
3 years ago
enjoyable
Many Christian rom-com novels tend to be a bit unrealistic: everything just works out so cleanly with a perfect 'happily ever after'. So I enjoyed that the love story in this novel takes a more realistic view, highlighting the humour, Grace - and love - that is present in the messy-ness of human life.
