Embraced - A Review

Embraced

by

Paula Wiseman

A Review

Abuse comes in many forms. In Paula Wiseman’s first book in this series it was sexual abuse. Stacy’s and Andrea’s abuse did not leave physical scars, but they still ran deep.  And Michael Shannon had to deal with both if he was to find his own way.

Paula Wiseman has a unique way of drawing the reader into the lives and emotions of the characters she is writing about. Michael had been brought up in a Christian home, but had walked away from that faith when he left for college - it was easier to follow the college culture than to follow the truth. But what he got was a mess.

But, sadly, the character I would like to have met most from this book is minor one - Uncle Nolan has a deep spirtitual life that got lost on his friends and family. It is Nolan who finally gives Michael the guidance he needs to find his way home in many ways. It would not be easy, I would mean some hard choices, but he would find his way.

However, Michael had support from multiple sources. The best advice Daviid gave, though given to a young man experiencing a broken marriage, is of value to all of us involved with a marriage. The advice was actually two steps:

1. Identify the five most important characteristics of your spouse.
2. Spend the next week telling your spouse about them.

i had two concerns as I read the book. The first was addressed, alas as an appendix - it needed to be found at the beginning of the book or at least referenced their. As I read, I often wished there was a family tree or (better) a genogram of Michaels family. I finally found it - at the very back of the ebook after all of the advertisements. It must be seen and followed as the book is read. The relationships are many and they change as the book progresses - the family tree given in the book represents the family’s status at the beginning of the book. This is where the diagram should be placed.

My second concern parallels one mentioned in my review for the first book in this series. In that first book, Donna’s husband is presented as her counselor - a violation of counselor ethics. In that first book that is a major strand of that story and effected my rating of the book. In this book Donna is shown to be cared for Dr. Craig as well, but that relationship is violated when Dr. Craig marries her following her husband’s death. In this book this is a very minor event - but does violate normal ethical practice for a doctor-patient relationship. Because this is a small, incidental event in this book, it will effect my rating, but is worth noting.

As a friend recently mentioned, people sometimes have messy lives. Paula Wiseman had the talent of demonstrating how God can find people in their messiness and bring them to His feet. The book may be fiction, but that is also what God does in real life as well. A lesson we all must learn and appreciate.

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This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the author for the purpose of creating this review.  The opinions expressed are my own.