Wherever Grace is Needed
by Elizabeth Bass
Grace as a child does not want to leave her father. She creates a ‘camera’ with her hands to record each and every feature of her father’s home. Grace as an adult becomes conflicted with the life she wanted as a child and the life she has now. Jordan is a troubled child who has closed herself off to love, her family and life due to a terrible — but unsubstantiated — guilt she harbors inside. Jordan’s and Grace’s worlds are about to collide and the result will most likely surprise you.
Grace is a word we use to describe a virtue many of us lack when confronted with life’s most stressful situations. It is so easy to fold and allow ourselves to collapse when the challenge that is presented actually calls for something more from within. After all it is not the easy times that define our character but how we handle the bad times.
Does the character Grace in this story have what it takes to overcome the challenges that have been presented to her? What of her self worth and sense of belonging? There are certain moments in life that we all dread even thinking about. As we go through life, it is so much easier to file these dreadful thoughts into the far reaches of our mind. Then, one day, on an atypical, normal day, the unthinkable happens and then you must confront it whether you like it or not. What will our protagonist in this book do?
What of our antagonist of sorts Jordan? It is easy to hate her from the moment we are introduced to her character and yet the author crafts the story in such a way that makes it easy to find a spot in your heart for her. She is after all an artist with the stereotypical artist mentality and that in itself lends intrigue to this very pivotal character in the book.
Ms. Bass takes the reader on a journey into the life of Grace Oliver. Can Ray, Jordan’s dad be saved by her? What about Grace’s own father? Can she handle looking after him and salvage the fragmented pieces of her own personal life? There are so many layers to this novel and it becomes a rewarding endeavor to unravel them all. You cannot help but pray that in the end a sense of hope, compassion and healing find a way to shine through for everyone.