Booking Your Weekend

I am on my last day of vacation,  but decided since you didn't get a list last weekend that this weekend I'd bring you a double feature of sweet and comforting to book your weekend with.

As always, click on the titles for a link to our reviews and the Amazon banners for purchase options.

These Healing Hills by Ann H. Gabhart

Francine Howard has her life all mapped out until the soldier she planned to marry at WWII's end writes to tell her he's in love with a woman in England. Devastated, Francine seeks a fresh start in the Appalachian Mountains, training to be a nurse midwife for the Frontier Nursing Service.

Deeply affected by the horrors he witnessed at war, Ben Locke has never thought further ahead than making it home to Kentucky. His future shrouded in as much mist as his beloved mountains, he's at a loss when it comes to envisioning what's next for his life.

When Francine's and Ben's paths intersect, it's immediately clear that they are from different worlds and value different things. But love has a way of healing old wounds . . . and revealing tantalizing new possibilities.

Our Altered Life by Charlene Beswick

After a healthy twin pregnancy, Charlene and Mark were shocked to be told that one of their boys had been born with half of his face undeveloped. In seconds, the happy family future they had been planning disintegrated into turmoil and uncertainty.

Laugh out loud funny in places, heart-wrenchingly sad in others, and refreshingly honest at all times, Our Altered Life is Charlene’s wonderful account of how she struggled to forgive herself and bond with a baby she didn’t expect. Follow her transition through grief and anger, challenges and triumphs, loss and acceptance, to love for the life she has now with two children she wouldn’t change for the world.

“Charlene has given anyone affected by facial differences, a glimpse into the innermost feelings of what it is like to travel this journey. Our Altered Life, with its adorable anecdotes and thoughtful considerations on life, makes for a compelling read. You'll laugh and cry through this refreshingly honest memoir and when you finish, you'll feel empowered by this relatable story of fierce love.”

- Erica Mossholder, MBA, Executive Director, Children's Craniofacial Association