Sarah Graham is a wounded woman. Daughter of an adulteress, father convicted of murder and raised by her emotionally distant grandmother from the age of one, Sarah understandably has some issues. However difficult her childhood, her own foolish, self-centered mistakes have compounded her general sense of betrayal; the world has let her down and nobody loves her, or so she believes.

Upon her estranged father’s death she arrives in the incredibly small town of Jonah, New York to claim her inheritance. The will includes the condition that she dwell in Jonah for six months before the monies will be released to her. Broke, homeless, and with a newly finalized divorce, the last thing Sarah wants to do is spend six months in an isolated mountain hamlet. With few other options available to her, she hunkers down for the snowy season and reluctantly comes to know the townsfolk.

Home Another Way is populated with an eccentric cast of characters. The people of Jonah are overwhelmingly Christian and downright unusual. Each has experienced some degree of pain in their lives, difficult circumstances, sin. Yet they all look for the light, the silver lining, and worse – they all speak well of Sarah’s deceased father, whom she is determined to hate.

Debut novelist Christa Parrish breathes new life into Christian fiction that focuses on interpersonal relationships. Home Another Way sparkles with crisp, cutting descriptive prose and veritably oozes angst. Convinced that everyone else is to blame for her destructive downward spiral, Sarah’s life is an open wound that she aggressively defends with sharp words, angry offensives, and seductive wiles. Her attempts to staunch its flow of blood include junk food, strange men, and impassioned, solitary violin solos.

Short chapters and rapid scene changes propel the reader through the novel. When it seems that Sarah’s self pity and anger will never end, glimpses of the joy and peace in the lives of those around her shine through the darkness to save the story from descending into pure depression. The contrast between her life as an unbeliever and those of the Christians she knows is stark, yet believable due to their foibles and realistic lives. These characters are so authentic in their quirks and qualities that they linger in the memory long after the story is over. From the obese Memory, her heart for hospitality and grown invalid son to young Beth with her disfiguring scars and pure heart – their unremitting hope and faith is a beacon to all who will encounter them.

Parrish swerves to avoid clichés and predictable, tidy endings to provide readers with an authentic, satisfying conclusion. Not everything is as it seems for Sarah, or for the reader. Those seeking a refreshing change of pace from the glut of repetitive Christian romance titles will be pleasantly surprised.

As Sarah comes to know the villagers, their gritty brand of tough love combined with genuine compassion and concern bring her to a new place in her life; a place where she can start over. Ultimately Home Another Way details the birth of a new beginning, the start of healing and of redemption.

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Publisher Info:

Title: Home Another Way
Author: Christa Parrish
Format: Paperback, 352 pages
Publisher: Bethany House (October 1, 2008)
ISBN-10: 0764205234
ISBN-13: 978-0764205231