Home by Ginny Yttrup

Not only do I have a cold, but I have just been reduced to a pile of mushy tears when I finished this book! My poor nose!

So many emotions while reading HOME. There was sadness, fear, trepidation, exasperation, empathy, sympathy, frustration and relief. I feared for Melanie and her husband Craig's marriage. I thought for sure that I knew where the author was going with their story, but in reality I had no idea. I experienced exasperation at Melanie's behavior...before I understood what she was going through. I felt sympathy for their neighbor Jill and her husband Marcos. I admired the characters for getting the help that they needed, all in different ways. I admired Craig's faithfulness even when temptation assailed him. I admired Marco's in the way he supported his wife and encouraged her to seek help. Each character had a struggle, a hurdle to overcome and a grief to work through.

HOME is about allowing ourselves to experience and work through the grieving process. Some of the characters in HOME embraced their grief and worked through it, some of the characters were unable to do that until events in their lives brought them face to face with having to deal with their grief. I love what Melanie's husband Craig said at one point,

"What Jesus suffered for mankind, for me, makes what I'm going through look trivial at best. Yet the Spirit assures me that God feels my pain--it isn't trivial to Him."

Isn't it wonderful that we have such a relational God? I know this is a work of fiction, but so many truths were packed in it, so many poignant, gut-wrenching scenes, with characters that seemed so real that I felt like they were a part of my life.

HOME is one of those stories that will stay with the reader long after the final page is turned.