A FRAGILE HOPE by Cynthia Ruchti

Hope grows when seeds are planted—even in the muddy middle of life.

Josiah Chamberlain’s life’s work revolves around repairing other people’s marriages. When his own is threatened by his wife’s unexplained distance, and then threatened further when she’s unexpectedly plunged into an unending fog, Josiah finds his expertise, quick wit and clever quips are no match for a relationship that is clearly broken.

Feeling betrayed, confused, and ill-equipped for a crisis this crippling, he reexamines everything he knows about the fragility of hope and the strength of his faith and love. Love seems to have failed him. Will what’s left of his faith fail him, too? Or will it be the one thing that holds him together and sears through the impenetrable wall that separates them?

My thoughts...

The title is perfect for this book, hope can be fragile...one of the hardest things to hold on to. The people that surround Josiah certainly teach him this truth as they endure their own struggles. Spending your days and nights in an ICU waiting room you meet others going through similar emotions. Though they're similar each one is unique, Josiah learned his wife was leaving him, she was pregnant, and that the babys father was killed, all on the night of the accident. Being in a relationship where communication is poor can lead to very wrong impressions...Josiah was very wrong in his thinking. Though it takes time for him to learn the truth he puts himself through unnecessary agony as well as hurt those who love him.

There's heartbreaking loss during this time which turns him to God and as he begins to understand what really happened and where things went wrong he untimately starts to become a better person. There's tears and unepected surprises throughout this beautiful story. Another awesome book by one of my favorite authors.

I received a copy of this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.