July 23, 2018
Sawyer (Grace and the Preacher) explores infertility, terminal illness, and sex trafficking in this harrowing novel set in Mennonite Indiana. Both Marty Hirschler’s faith and her marriage have been on rocky ground since she found out she and her husband, Anthony, couldn’t have children. The many children in their Pine Hill, Ind., community only serve to hurt Marty’s heart. Brooke Spalding, a successful corporate real estate developer, has been Marty’s best friend since they were children. When Brooke invites Marty and Anthony, who owns a construction company, to come help her remodel a ghost town into a resort, Marty sees her chance to get away. When they arrive, Brooke reveals that she has cancer. Marty discovers a renewed sense of purpose as Brooke’s caretaker while her friend endures surgery and chemotherapy. The discovery of Ronnie, a runaway teenage prostitute, on the resort property opens everyone’s eyes to the needs of teenage foster children in their area. Brooke faces an existential crisis as she faces death, begins to search for God, and decides that a resort may not be the best use of the property, as she could use it to help troubled teens instead. Sawyer’s fine story overflows with hope and the promise of a better life.